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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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ria 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/iCMH 
Collectioo  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 

1980 


■i 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibllographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
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copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
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the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-6tre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mdthode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
.Couverture  de  couleur 


□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 


D 
D 

n 


Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagde 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pelliculde 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Prges  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

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Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul^es 

0   Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
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□ 


Coloured  maps/ 

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Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


□Pages  detached/ 
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□    Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


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Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
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Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 


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0 


n 


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lors  dune  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
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Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 


14X 


18X 


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26X 


30X 


7 


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20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


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or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ♦-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

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Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
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par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
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premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaTtra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ♦-signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Stre 
film^s  6  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  etre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


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NE  W  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Bv  SAMUEL  ADAMS  DRAKE, 


AUTIIOU  OK 


■•OLU  LANDMARKS  OF  BOSTON,"  "  IHSTOUIC   FIELDS  AND  MANSIONS  OF  MIDDLESEX,"  &o. 


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I  Vf  Til  NUMEIt  0  US  ILL  US  Tit  A  TIONS. 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER    &    TiR  OTHERS,   PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN    S  Q  U  A  U  E. 


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153805 


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Knm-ed  nccoi-ding  Ir,  Act  of  Oongrcs,,.  in  il„,  vcr  I  S7r,,  by 
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AND  WITH   SKNTIMKNrS  01'   IllUlI   llESrEC'T, 


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CONTENTS. 


CIIAPTKIl  I. 

NKW  kn(;lam>  of  riiK  ancients. 

NoninilieRii  River  and  City.— Kaily  Discoverers,  nml  .Majis  of  New  iMiKlniid.— Alode  of  UiWiw^ 
Tossossion  of  new  ( 'omitries.— Ciiiel  Vi^ixavi  of  Imniders  liy  the  Kiiglisli.— renoliscut  iJny.— 
("iuimcter  of  first  iMiiignuits  to  New  Kiigland.— Is  Friday  iniluuky? I'uge  17 

CIIAITEU  II. 

MOINT    DKSKKT    ISLAND. 

Alioiit  Islands.— Ciiamplain's  Discovery.— Mount  Desert  Kaiige. — Somcsviilo,  and  tlie  Neiglibor- 
liood.— Colony  of  Madame  De  (iueiclieville. — Descent  of  Sir  S.  Argali. — Treasure-trove. — 
Sliell-lieaps. — youth-west  Harbor. — Tlic  natural  Sea-wall.— Islands  off  Sonies's  Sound Ii7 

j  CHAPTEU  III. 

^  CIIUISTMAS    (»X    MOUNT    DESERT. 

fKxcnrsion  to  Bar  Harbor. — Clreen  Mountain. — Ka,i;le  Lake. — Island  Nomenclature. — I'orcui)ine 
IsluTids. — Short  Jaunts  by  the  Siiore. — Schooner  Head.  —  Spouting  Cavos. — Sea  A<inaria. — 
-';       Audubon  iind  Agassi/,. — David  Wasgatt  Clark. — F.  E.  Church  and  the  Artists. — Great  Head. 
,J|        —Have  Fran<;oise. — Mount  Desert  liock.— Value  of  natural  Sca-inarl.s. — Newport  Moinit- 
"'^       ain,  and  the  Way  to  Otter  Creek.— The  Islesnicn. — North-east  IIari)or. — Tlie  Ovens. — The 
•^       Greguires. — Henrietta  d'Orleans. — Yankee  Curiosity 40 

I  CHAPTER  IV. 

f  CASTINE. 

.    I'entagoct. — A  Fog  in  Penobscot  Ray. — Rockland. — The  Muscongn.i  Grant. — Colonial  Society. — 

(Jenerals  Knox  and  Lincoln. — (lanulen  Hills — Helfast  and  tlic  River  I'enob.scot. — Rrigadier's 

Island. — Disa[)pearance  of  the  Salmon. — Approach  to  Castiue. — Fort  George. — I'enobscot 

l'"yX])edilion. — Sir  John  Moore. — Ca])tin'e  of  General  Wadsworlb. — His  remarkable  Escape. — 

if  Rochambeaii's  Proposal. — La  Pey rouse CiS 

M 

I  CHAPTER  V. 

j-  CASTINE — continued. 

i    Old  Fort  Pentagoiit.— Stephen  Grindle's  Windfall.— Cob-money. — The  Pilgrims  at  Penobscot. — 
i  Isaac  de  Razilly. — D'Aulnay  Charnisay. — La  Tour. — Descent  of  Sedgwick  and  Leverett. — 

.<;  (-ai)tine  of  Pentagoer,  and  Imprisoimient  of  Chambly. — Colbert. — Baron  Castin. — The  younger 


-s 


10 


CONTENTS. 


Ciistin  kidiiiiiied.^Ciipiicliins  and  Jesuits. — Intrigues  of  De  Maintenon  .-.nd  Pore  Laeliaise.- 
Buiial-ground  of  Custine. — About  the  Lobster. — Where  is  Down  East? I'ago  7.) 

ciiAPTEPt  vr. 

PEMAQXIII)     POINT. 

New  Havboi'. — Wayside  Manners. — Bfitisli  Kepulse  at  New  Harbor. — Porgee  Factory. — Proccs- 
of  converting  tlie  Fish  into  Oil.  —  Habits  of  the  Mackerel. — Weymouth's  Visit  to  Pcnia([ui(i. 
— Ciiani])lain  again.  —  l'o])iiani  (-olony. — (lotton  M.  iher  on  new  Settlements. — Euglisli  rs. 
French  Endurance. — L'Ordre  de  lion  Temps. — Samoset. — Fort  Frederick. — Hesumc  of  tlie 
I'^ngiish  Settlement  and  Forts. — Joiin  Nelson.  —  Capture  of  Fort  William  Henry. — l)li)ervilk'. 
the  knowing  One. — {\ilonel  Dunbar  at  I'emaciuid.  —  Shell-heaps  of  Damariscotta. — Disap])car- 
ance  of  the  native  OystCi  in  New  England s; 


CHAPTER  VII, 

MONIIEGAX     ISLAND. 

Scenes  on  a  I'enobscot  Steamer. — Tiie  Islmiders. — Weymouth's  Anchorage. — Monhegan  do- 
scribed. — Combat  between  the  Enterprise  and  £oxer.— Lieutenant  Jiurrows UiL' 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

-,       FROM   WELLS   TO    OLD   YORK. 

Wells. —  John  Wheelwright. —  George  Purroiighs. —  On  the  Beach. —  Rhiftings  of  tlie  Sands.— 
What  they  produce. — Ingenuity  of  the  Crow.— The  Beach  as  a  High-road. — I'opuhir  Super- 
.    stitions. — Ogunipiit. — Bald  Head  Clitt'. — Wreck  of  the  Isidore. — Kennel)unki)ort. — Cape  Ned- 
dock. — The  Nubble. — Captains  Gosnold  and  Pring. — Moon-light  on  the  Beach 10!) 

CHAPTER  IX.        -^^ 

A(5AMENT10US,  TIIE    ANCIENT   CITY. 

Moimt  Agameuticus. — Basque  Fishermen. — Sassafras. — The  Long  Sands. — Sea-weed  and  Shell- 
fish.—  Foot- prints.  —  Old  York  Annals. —  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges. — York  Meeting-house.— 
Handkerchief  Moody. — Parson  Moody. — David  Sewall. — Old  Jail. — Garrison  IIouse.s,  Scot- 
hmd  Parish l:^- 

CHAPIER  X. 

AT   KITTERY    POINT,  MAINE. 

York  Bridge.  —  Poor  Sally  Cutts. —  Fort  M'Clary. —  Sir  William  Pepperell. —  Lonisburg  and 
Fontenoy. — (Jerrish's  Island. — Francis  Champernowne. — Islands  belonging  to  Kittery. — John 
Langdon. — Jacob  Sheafl'e. — Washington  at  Kittery 141 

CIIAPTEli  XI. 

THE    ISLES    OF    SHOALS. 

De  Monts  sees  them. — Smith's  and  Lcvett's  Account. — Cod-fishery  in  the  sixteenth  Century.— 
Sail  down  the  Piscataqua. — The  Isles.  —  Derivation  of  the  Name. — Jeffrey's  Ledge.  —  Star 
Island.  —  Little  Meeting-house. —  Character  of  the  Islesmen. —  Island  Grave-yards. —  Betty 


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■  Loui.sburg   and 

Kittery. — Jolin 

141 


■ntli  Century.— 
8  Lctlge.  —  Star 
-yards. —  Betty 


Moody's  Hole.— Natural  Gorges.— Under  the  Cliffs.— Death  of  Miss  Underhill.— Story  of  her 
Life.— 13oon  Island.— Wreck  of  the  ynttingltam.—¥hh  and  Fishermen Page  Uui 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   ISLES   OF   SHOALS — COntUlUed. 

Excursion  to  Smutty  Nose.— Piracy  in  New  England  Waters.— Blackbeard.— Thomas  Morton's 
Hanishment.— Religious  Liberty  cs.  License.— Custom  of  the  May-pole.— Samuel  Haley.— 
Spanish  Wreck  on  Smutty  Nose.— Graves  of  tlie  Unknown.— Terrible  Tragedy  on  the  Island. 
— Ai)ii!edore.— Its  ancient  Settlement.  —Smith's  Cairn.— Duck  Island.— Londoner's.— Thomas 
B.  Laighton.— M'-s.  Thaxter.— Light-houses  in  17'.);$.— White  Island.— Story  of  a  v>  .eck.   17.") 

CIIAPTEll  XIII.  ^ 

NEWCASTLE    AND   NEIGHIJOIHIOOH. 

The  Way  to  the  Island.- The  Pool— Ancient  Ships.— Old  House.— Town  Charter  and  Records. 
—Influence  of  the  Navy-yard.— Fort  Constitution.— Little  Harbor.- Captain  John  Mason.— 
—The  Wentworth  House.— The  Portraits.— The  Governors  Wentworth  and  their  Wives.— 
Baron  Steuben !'■"' 

CIIAITEU  XIV.  _. 

SALE.M   VILLAGE,  AND  '92. 

Tlie  Witch-ground. — Antiquity  of  Witchcraft. — First  Case  in  New  England.— Curiosities  of  Witch- 
craft.— Rebecca  Nurse. — Beginning  of  Terrorism  at  Salem  Village. — Humors  of  the  Appari- 
tions.— General  Putnam's  Birthplace. — What  may  be  seen  in  Danvers 20.^ 

CHAPTER  XV. 

-      A   WALK   TO    WITCH    HILL. 

Salem  in  1002. — Birthplace  of  Hawthorne.— Old  W^itch  House. — William  Stoughton,  Governor. — 
Witch  Hill.— A  Leaf  from  History 220 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

MAURLEHEAD. 

The  Rock  of  Marhlehead. — The  Harbor  and  Neck. — Chat  with  the  Light-keeper. — Decline  of 
liie  Fisheries. — Fisliery  in  the  olden  Time. — Early  Annals  of  Marhlehead. — Walks  about  the 
Town. — Crooked  Lanes  and  antique  Houses. — The  Water-side. — The  Fishermen. — How  the 
Town  looked  in  the  I'ast. — Plain-spoken  Clergymen  and  lawless  Parishioners.— Anecdotes, — 
Jeremiah  Lee  and  his  Mansion. — The  Town-house. — Chief-justice  Story.  ^ — St.  Michael's 
Church. — Elbridge  Gerry. — The  old  Ironsides  of  the  Sea.  —  General  John  Glover. — Flood 
Ireson's,  Oakum  Bay. — Fort  Sewall. — Escape  of  the  C'lm^tifution  Frigate. — Dud  of  the  C/iesn- 
pvake  and  Shannon. — Old  Burial-ground. — The  Grave-digger. — Perils  of  the  Fishery 22)S 

CHAITER  XVII. 

PLYMOUTH. 

At  the  American  Mecca. — Court  Street. — Pilgrim  Hall  and  Pilgrim  Memorials. — Sargent's  Pic- 
ture of  the  "  Landing." — Relics  of  the  Mayjhwer. — First  Duel  in  New  England. — Old  Colony 


I  ii 


12  CONTENTS. 

Seal.— The  'TompaPt."— First  Execution  in  I'iymoiitli.— Old  "Body  of  Laws."— rilgrim 
("iironicles.— View  from  Burial  Hill. — 'I'lic  ilaihor. — Names  of  Plymouth. — IMymouth,  Kii- 
glaiid. — Lord  Nelson's  Generosity. — Plymouth  the  temporary  Choice  of  the  Pilgrims. — Tlie 
Indian  Plague. — Indian  Superstition. — Who  was  first  at  Plymouth  ? — De  Monts  and  Cham- 
plain. — Champliiiu's  Voyages  in  New  England. ^French  Pilgrims  make  the  first  Landing.— 
Why  the  Natives  were  hostile  to  the  ' Mgrims  of  lO^O. — Confusion  iiinong  old  Writers  ahniu 
Plymouth. — Among  the  Tombstones  of  Burial  Hill. — The  Pilgrims'  (!hurch-fortress. — What  ii 
Diitchiiian  saw  here  in  1027. — Military  Procession  to  Meeting. — Ancient  Chm-ch  Customs.— 
Puritans,  Separatists,  and  Biownists. — Flight  and  Political  Ostracism  of  the  Pilgrims. — Tiicir 
form  of  Worship. — First  Church  of  Salem. — Plymouth  founded  on  a  Principle Page  L'Cil 

ClIAPTEll  XVIII. 

PLYMOUTH,  CLAKK's    ISLAND,  AM)    DUXBURY. 

Let  us  walk  in  Leyden  Street. — The  way  Plymouth  was  built. — Governor  Bradford's  Corner.— 
Fragments  of  Family  History. — How  Marriage  became  a  civil  Act. — The  Common-house.— 
John  Oldham's  Punishment. — The  Allyne  House. — James  Otis  and  his  Sister  Mercy. — James 
Warren. — Cole's  Hill,  and  its  obliterutei"  (jiraves. — Plymouth  l{ock. — True  Date  of  the  "  Land- 
ing.''— Christmas  in  Plymouth,  and  Bradford's  Joke. — Pilgrim  Toleration. — Samoset  surprises 
Plymouth. — T/ie  Entry  of  JNIassasoit. — First  American  Congress. — Ta  Clark's  Island. — Wat- 
son's House. — Election  Kock. — The  Party  of  Discovery. — Duxbury. — Captains  Hill  and  Miles 
Standisli. — Joha  Aiden. — "Why  don't  you  sjjeak  for  yourself?" — Historical  Iconoclasts.— 
Celebrities  of  Duxbury.^ — Winslow  and  Acadia.  —  Colonel  Church. —  The  Dartmouth  In- 
dians   2^3 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

PROVINCETOWN. 

Cni)e  Cod  a  Terra  incognita. — Appearance  of  its  Surface. — Historical  Fragments. — The  Pilgrim^' 
first  Landing. — New  England  Washing-day. — De  Poutrincourt's  Fight  with  Natives. — Province- 
town  described. — Cape  Names. — Portuguese  Colony. — Cod  and  Mackerel  Fishery. — Cod-lisli 
Aristocracy. — Matt  Prior  and  Lent. — Beginning  of  Whaling. — Mad  Montague. — The  Desert.— 
Cranberry  Culture. — The  moving  Sand-hills. — Disappearance  of  ancient  Forests. — The  Beat  li. 
— Hace  Point. — Huts  of  Refuge. — Ice  Blockade  of  IST-t-'T"). — Wreck  of  the  Giovanni. — Piiys- 
icnl  Aspects  of  the  Cape  Shores.— Old  Wreck  at  Orleans iidt 

CHAPTEU  XX. 

NANTUCKET. 

The  old  Voyagers  again. — Derivation  of  the  Name  of  Nantucket. — Sail  from  Wood's  Hole  to  \\w 
Island. —Vineyard  Sound. — Walks   in   Nantucket  Streets.— Whales,  Ships,  and  Whaling. 
Nantucket  in  the  Revolution. — Cruising  for  Whales. — The  Camels. — Nantucket  Sailors.  - 
Loss  of  Ship  Exser. — Town-crier.— Island    History. — Quaker  Sailors. — Thomas  Mayhew.— 
Spermaceti. — Macy,  Folger,  Admiral  Sir  Isaac  Coffin <'i-^ 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

NANTUCKET — COfltiutied. 

Taking  Blackfish.— Blue-fishing  nt  the  Opening.— Walk  to  Coatue.— The  Scallop-shell. — Strtio 
ture  of  the  Island. — Indian  Legends. — Shepiierd  Life. — Absolutism  of  Indian  Sagamores.  - 


I 


""INTENTS. 


13 


ws." —  Pilgrim 
riymouth,  Kii- 
I'ilgriins. — Tlie 
Its  and  Cham- 
rst  I/iiidiiig.— 
Wi'iters  alxnit 
tress. — What  ii 
rch  Customs.— 
ilgrims. — Tlu'ir 
Page  L'lil 


ovd's  Corner.— 
mnion-hoiisc  — 
Mercy. — Jiinies 
i  oftlie  "J.iiiul- 
imoset  sur])rises 
Lsliind.— Wat- 
<  Hill  and  Mile~ 
I  Icoiioflasts.— 
Dartmouth    lii- 


L'Mi 


— The  Pilgrim^*' 
ves. — Provincc- 
hery. — Cod-fisii 
riie  Desert.— 
— Tlie  Beaili. 
-Piiys- 

..  atii 


iovanni.- 


od's  Hole  to  I  lie 
ind  Whaling. 
R'ket  Sailors.  — 
nas  Mavhew. 


•1 


ip-shell. — Stnio 
u  Sagamores.— 


m 

n 


Wasting  of  the  Shores  of  the  Island.  -Siasconset.— Nantucket  Carts.— Fishing-stages.— The 
Great  South  Shoal.— Sankoty  Liglit.— Wurfside l''ige  'M[i 


I 


ciiait«:r  XXII. 

NEWl'OKT    OF   AQUIDNECK. 

Genciid  View  of  Newport.— Sail  up  the  Harbor.— Commercial  Decadence.— Street  Rambles.— 
William  Coddiugton.— Anne  Hutchinson. — The  Wantons.— Newport  Artillery.— State-house 
X„tes.— Tristram  ISmgess.— Jewish  Cemetery  and  Synagogue.— Judah  Touro.— Redwood  Li- 
brary.—The  Old  Stone  Mill 


".(■> 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

PICTURESQUE    NEWrORP. 

The  Cliff  Walk.— Newport  Cottages  and  Cottage  Life.— Charlotte  Cushman.— Fort  Day  and  Fort 
Adams.  —  Heniard,  the  Kngineer.  —Dumplings  Fort.  —  Canoincut.  —Hessians.  —Newport 
Drives.— Tiie  Beaches.— Purgatory.— Dean  Berkeley i37;{ 

CIIAPTEU  XXIV. 

THE    FREXCH    AT   NEWPORT. 

Behavior  of  the  Troops. — Monarchy  aiding  Democracy.— D'Estaing. — Jourdan.— French  Camps. 
— Rochamheau,  Do  Teriuiy.  Do  Xoailles.  —  KtVorts  of  Knglaud  to  break  the  Alliance. — Fred- 
click's  Remark. — Malmesbury  and  Potemkin. — Loril  Nortii  and  Yorktown.— George  IIL  — 
Hiron,  Due  de  Lauzun. — Chastellux,  De  Castries,  Viomenil,  Lameth,  Dumas,  La  Peyrouse, 
Hcrihier,  and  Deux-Ponts. — The  Regiment  Auvergne. — Latour  D'Auvergne. — French  Diplo- 
macy   !58(» 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

NEWPORT   OEMKIERIES. 

Bluule  Island  Cemetery. — Curious  Inscriptions.  — William  Ellery. — Oliver  Hazard  Perry. — The 
(Quakers. — George  Fox. — Quaker  Persecution. — (Jther  Grave-yards. — Lee  and  the  Rhode  Isl- 
and Tories. — Cod<Hngton  and  (Jortou. — John  Coggeshall. — Trinity  Ciinrch-yard.— Dr.  Samuel 
Hopkins.— Gilbert  Stuart .'598 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

TO    JIOUNT   HOPE,  AND    BEYOND. 

\Valk  np  the  Island.— "Tonomy"  Hill.— The  Maliiones.— Capture  of  General  Prescott.— Talbot's 
l'".xpli)it.  —  Aiu'ient  Stages. — Windmills. — AI)i)Ut  Fish.  —  Lawton's  Valley. —  Battle  of  1778. — 
Island  History. — Mount  Hope. — Philip's  Death. — Dighton  Rock. — Indian  Anticpiities. ...  407 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

NT-M"   LO:,";>o.N    AND   NORWICH. 

"Infranre  to  the  Thames. —Fisher's  Island.  —  Block  Island. — New  London. — Light-ships  and 
Light-houses. — Hempstead  House.  —  Bishop  Seahury. — Old  Hurial-grouud. — New  Loinlon  Har- 
bor.— The  little  Shi])-destroyer. — Groton  and  Monument. — Arnold.  —  British  Attack  on  (Jroton. 
— Fort  Griswold. — The  Pequots. — John  Mason. — Silas  Deane. — Beaumarchais. — John  Led- 


yard. — Decatur  and  Ilurdy.- 
Cliiefiaiu. — JJorwicli  Town.- 


14  CONTENTS. 

-Norwioli  City. — Tlie  Yaiitic  picturesque. — Uncas,  the  Mohe 
-L'inc  old  Trees. — Tim  lluntiugtous Page  l:^u 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

SAYUUOOK. 

Old  Saybrooli.— Disapiiearnnce  of  the  Yanliee.— Old  Girls.— Isaac  Hall.— The  Harts.— Connwii. 
cut  River.— Old  Fortress.— Dutch  Courage. — The  I'ilgriuis'  Experiences.- Cromwell,  Hainii. 
den,  and  Pym. — L;uiy  Fenwick. — George  Feuwiclv.— Lion  (iaidiner.- Old  Burial-ground. - 
Yale  College.— The  Shore,  and  the  End 141 


I 


m 


INDEX 1^1 


as,  the  Mohe;,'iui 
I'age  tL'u 


[arts. — Connctti- 
'ronnvell,  lliiiiii- 
15urial-groiiiid.- 
Ill 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTUATIONS. 


Pigeon  Cove,  Cape  Ann .  Fr'tiitpiece. 

Map //(  J'li'faee. 

Heiiil-piece 18 

Jacipics  earlier 20 

Captain  John  Smith '21 

Plei  re  (In  Gna>t,  Sienr  de  Moiils  '2:i 

Sir  Uiinii)hi-cy  (iill)urt '.'4 

Pac- simile    of  llr.-t   Alap   en- 

giavod  ill  Now  Kni^laiid 25 

Tail'-i-iccc 20 

Monnt  Desert,  from  Blue  Hill 

I?ay 27 

Map  of  Monnt  Desert  Island  . .  28 

Sannel  t'haniplain 29 

Head  of  Sonies's  Sonnd H'i 

Bilio  Lake 'Si 

Clin's,  Dog  Mountain,  Somes's 

Sound 37 

Till'  Stone  Wall iW 

BiiiiiuH'e  to  Si)nies'8  Honnd  ...  itu 

Pidfcssor  Agassiz 40 

Viiw  of  Kairle   Lake  and  the 

S(M  from  (trc(ui  T>lountain. . .  A'.i 

Clifl-  on  liaUl  I'orcnpine 14 

Boullierly    Knd     of    Newport 

Monntain,    near    the    Sand 

lliach 45 

Cave  of  the  Sea,  Schooner  Head  40 

Clifl's  at  Schooner  Head 47 

Devil's  Den  and  Schooner  Head  48 

Gnat  Head 51 

The  Ovens,  Saiilsbury's  Cove..  .55 

Tail-|iiece 57 

C'a>iiiie,     approaching      from 

Mcsl)oro BS 

(iciicral  Henry  Unox 61 

Crmral  lienj '  ain  Lincoln  ....  62 

I'.ii  I  i'oint 03 

View  from  Fort  George 06 

,.  Sir  .lohn  Moore 67 

i  Fori  Griffith 6S 

4  I'.ut  (icorge 69 

•He- Tail-piece 72 

,;  liiiiiis  of  Fort  PentagoiJt 7.'i 

!  I'iiie-lree  Shilling 75 

Icolbert 79 

lLol)ster  Pot 85 

Tail-piece 80 

'old  Fort  Frederick,  Pemnquid 

Point 87 

"The  Land-breeze  of  Evening"  S8 

Cotton  Mather 94 

.\ncient  Pemnquid 95 


PABK 

Charlevoix 90 

French    Frigate,   Seventeentli 

Century 98 

Hutchinson '.t'.i 

Monhciran  Island 102 

Thatcher's    Island    Light,  and 

Fog-signals,  Cape  Ann 10!! 

Graves  of  Hurrows  and  Blythe, 

Portland 107 

Tail-piece  (Hiirrows's  Medal)  ..  lOS 

(iorge,  Bald  Head  Cliff 109 

Old  Wrecks  on  the  Beach 112 

The  Morning  Kouiid 119 

What  tlic  Sea  can  do 121! 

Yorlv  Meeling-house i;!4 

Jail  at  Old  York i:iti 

Pillory 137 

Stocks 137 

Old  (Jarrison  House lit'.) 

Tail-piece 140 

Portsmouth,  New   Hamiisliire, 

from  Killery  Bridgi; 141 

Navy  Yard,  KitUM-y,  Maine 1 12 

Block-house  and  Fort,  Kitiery 

Point 144 

Sir  William  l'c|)perell"s  House, 

Kittery  Point 145 

Sir  William  Pei)perell 140 

Kittery  Point,  Maine 148 

Governor  Langdou's  Mansion, 

Portsmouth 150 

Tail-piece 152 

Whale's-back  Light 153 

Portsmouth  and  the  Isles  of 

Shoals  (Map) 154 

Shag  and  Mingo  Rocks,  Duck 

Island 15S 

Jleetiug-honse,  Star  Island lo:! 

The  Gravjis,  Willi  Captain  John 

Smith's  Monument,  Star  Isl- 
and    105 

Gorge,  Star  Island 169 

Tail-piece 174 

Clifl's,  White  Island 175 

Blackboard,  tlic  Pirate 17.8 

Smutty  Nose 182 

Haley  Dock  and  Homestead. . .  183 

Ledge  of  Hocks,  Smutty  Nose  .  ISO 
South-east  Knd  of  Appledore, 

looking  Simth 187 

Dnrk  Island,  from  Appledore..  188 

Laighton'B  (iravc 190 

Londoner's,  from  Star  Island . .  191 


PAGR 

Covered  Way  and  Light-house, 

White  Island 193 

White  Island  Light 194 

Tail-piece 195 

Wentworth  House,  Little  Har- 
bor   196 

Point  of  Graves 197 

Old  House,  Great  Island 198 

Old  Tower,  Newpastle 199 

Gate -way,  old  Fort  Constitu- 
tion   200 

Sir  Thomas  Wentworth,  Went- 
worth House,  Little  Harbor.     201 

Marquis  of  Rockingham 202 

In  the  Wentworth  House,  Lit- 
tle Harbor 203 

Lady  Hancock's  Portrait  in  the 

Wentworth  House '-'04 

Governor  Benning  Wentworth.  '200 

Baron  Steuben 207 

Witch  Hill,  Salem '208 

Custom-house,   Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts   211 

Kel)ecca  Nurse's  House 213 

Procter  House 214 

Birllii)lace  of  Putnam 217 

Putnam  in  Briti-h  Uniform....  218 

Kndicott  Pear-tree '213 

Tail-piece    (Putmim's    Tavern 

Sign) 219 

Washington  Street,  Salem 220 

Birthplace  of  Hawthorne '221 

Shattuck  Himse 2'21 

Room  in  which  Hawthorne  was 

born 222 

The  old  Witch  House 223 

Fragment  of  Exaniliniliou  of 

Rebecca  Nurse 224 

Thtmias  Beadle's  Tavern,  1092.  225 
Interior  of  First  Cliurcl;,  Salem  227 
Ireson's   House,   Oakum   Bay, 

Marblehead 2'J8 

Great  Head 229 

"The  Churn" 230 

Drying  Fish,  Little  Harbor S3  J 

Fnloading  Fish 235 

A  Group  of  Antiques 237 

Lee  Street '239 

Tucker's  Wharf— the  Steps  ....  241 

(iregi >ry  Street 242 

Lee  House 245 

Town-house  and  Sqmire '.'47 

St.  Michael's,  Marblehead '24tj 


16 


LIST  OF    ILLUSTRATION'S. 


^ii 


iifc 


PARK 

Elbridge  Gen  y 24'.i 

The  (tiTiymimder 2f>(l 

"Old  Noitli"   t'()iigrci,'i\tii)iml 

Clhurch 251 

SamiR'l  Tucker 2f)2 

(Jeiierid  filover 25.'! 

Fort  Sewiill 255 

T'owder-house,  1T55 25(5 

James  Lawrence 257 

Gliinpi'e  of  the  SeiunenV  .Mon- 
ilinentnnd  old  Hiirial-grouiid  258 

liOne  ( tiaves 200 

'* Sittiiii,',  stilcliiiij,'  ill  a  iiiDurii- 

fiilMuse" 26(t 

The  Iloe,  Knirlisli  Plymouth...  2fil 

Maj)  ofl'lymouth 2tii! 

Pilfrrim  Hall 203 

Brewster's  Chest,  aud  Slaiid- 

ish'rt  Pot 2fi3 

Lnndiiii;  of  the  PilKrinis 2ii4 

Carver's  and  Brewster's  Chairs  2(i5 

Mincinf,'  Knife 205 

Peregrine  White's  Cabinet 205 

Standisli's  Sword 200 

The  Old  Colony  Seal 207 

Maj)  of  Plymouth  Bay 209 

( 'hamiilaiu's  Map.  —  Por^  Cape 

St.  Louis 274 

Tail-piece 2S2 

The  l'il,i;rims'  tirst  Encounter..  283 
Buildini;  on  the  Site  of  Brad- 
ford's .Man.siou 284 

Site  of  the  Common  House '286 

The  Allyne  House 287 

The     Joanna     Davis     House, 

Cole's  Hill 28S 

Plymouth  Uock  in  1S50 28!) 

The  Gurnet 290 

Watson's  House,  Clark's  Island  2'.t7 
Election  Rock,  Clark's  Island.  2!IS 

<  "hurch's  Sword 302 

Tail-piece .'i03 

Provincetown,  from  the  Hills..  ii04 

Cohasset  Narrows 305 

HiL'hland  r.iijht,  Cape  Cod 308 

Washing'  Fish .309 

Mackerel,— A  Family  <  Jroup. . .  313 

Pond  Village,  Cape  Cod 315 

Picking  and  sorting  Cranber- 
ries—Cape Cod 317 

Sand-hills,  Provincetown 31S 

Life-boat  Station.— Trial  of  the 

Bomb  and  Line ,321 

Tail-piece  (A  "  Sunflsh  ") 323 

Nantucket,  from  the  Sea 324 

.Ma])  of  Cajie  Cod,  Nantucket, 

and  Martha's  Vineyard 325 

Approach  to  Martha's  Vineyard  320 
.\  Bit  of  Nantucket— the  House- 
tops   328 


Last  of  the  Whale-ships ;iH-2 

Whaling  in  the  olden  Time 333 

Wjialeof  tlic  .\ncients 334 

E.  Johnson's  Studio,  Nantucket  341 

i  Tail-piece 342 

Nantucket.  —  Old    Windmill, 

I      looking  ocean  ward 343 

!  Captured  Poriioise  and  Black- 

flsh .345 

TheBlue-flsh 340 

Blue-flshiMg 347 

Homes  of  the  Fishermen,  Sias- 

conset 3.52 

The  Sea-bluff,  Siasconset 353 

I  Hauling  a  Dory  over  the  Hills, 

Nantucket 364 

I  Light -house,  Sankoty  Head, 

I      Nantucket 3.55 

Tail-piece 3.55 

Newport,  from  Fort  Adams. ...  .3.50 
Old  F  irt.  l)iinii)ling  Uocks  ....  3.W 

Old-time  Houses ;!«() 

]{esidence    of  (Jovernor   Cod- 

'      dington,  Newport,  1041 301 

j  Newport  State-house 30i! 

j  Commodore  Perry's  House 304 

'  Jewish  Cemetery ii05 

Jews'  Synagogue,  Newjjort 300 

Juilah  Toino ,307 

The  Itedwood  Library 308 

Abraham  Hedwood 309 

The  Old  Stime  Mill .370 

I  The  Perry  ^loniiment 371 

I  Tail-piece 372 

Boat  Landing 373 

The  Beach 374 

ClifTWalk 375 

The  Cliffs 870 

A  Newport  Cottage 377 

Charlotte Cushman's  llesidence  ,377 

Spouting  Kock 378 

The  Dumplings 380 

Hessian  Grenadier 881 

Coast  Scene,  Newport 382 

The  Drive 383 

Purgatory  Bluff 383 

Whitehall 384 

Washington  Park,  Newport. . . .  3S5 

D'j;stainK 386 

Earl  irowe 388 

Kochambeau 388 

Kochambeau's  Head-quarters  .  389 

Louis  XVI 389 

Military  Map  of  Hhodo  Island, 

1778 390 

Lafayette 391 

Baron  Vioincnil 391 

Triinty  Chin-ch,  Newport 392 

Chastellu.K .392 

Lau/un 393 


Mathieu  Dumas ::.<\ 

Deu.x-Ponts :;;ir, 

I)e  Biirras :;!iri 

Latour  D'Auvergne :;'.ii; 

Tail-piece :\:r, 

Graves  on  the  Bluff,  Fi)rt  Koad  :,'.'^ 
Tombstones,    Newport    Ceme- 
tery    ".V) 

Perry's  Monument 4iil 

Oliver  Hazard  Perry -Ihi 

Friends'  Meeting-house -lnj 

George  Fo?: 4ii:j 

Charles  Lee 1114 

Mount  Hoi)0 411' 

The  (ilen 4ik 

A  Rhode  Island  Windmill 4ii!i 

William  Barton 4111 

Silas  Talbot 4I11 

Prescott's  Head-quarters 411 

Agricultural  Prosperity 41J 

From    Butts's     Hill,     looking 

North  411! 

Quaker  Hill,  from  Butts's  Hill, 

looking  North 414 

Battle-gronndofAugust29,1778  414 
King  Philip,  from  an  old  Print  4l.'i 
Inscription  on  Dighton  Rock. .  41il 
Old  Leonard  House,  Raynham.  41',i 

New  London  in  ls|:i ijii 

New    London    Harbor,    nm-tb 

View 4.'1 

New  Loiulon  Light 4J1 

New  London  in  17S1  (Map) 4-.'-.' 

Old  Block-house,  Fort  Trum- 
bull   u:; 

A  Light-ship  on  her  Station. . .  4'J4 

Court-house,  New  London 4'ir> 

Bishop  Seabury's  Monument ..  4'.'('i 

Groton  Monument 4'.'T 

Benedict  Arnold 4'2'.i 

Storming  of  the  Indian  For- 
tress      -I'M 

Silas  Denne 4;;! 

Stephen  Decatur 4:;;: 

Rustic  Bridge,  Norwich 4:  1 

Old  Mill,  Norwich 4:,'i 

Signattires  of  Uncas  and  his 

Sons 4:;i'i 

Uncas's  Moiniraent 4:i7 

Arnold's  Birthplace 4:;7 

Elm-trees  by  the  Wayside 4:i~< 

General  Huntington's  House  . .  4H'> 
Mansion  of  Governor  Hunting- 
ton   4;iO 

Congregational  Church 44ii 

Tail-piece 44ii 

Peter  Stuyvesant 441 

Isaac  Hull 444 

A  Moss-grown  Memorial 44ii 

Tail-piece 14'' 


:»\ 

ii'.i,') 

■'■''■''>        ■■? 

' •='"'        -k 

:wi 

r,  Fort  Kortd  i;'."- 

poit    I'eiiie- 

".'.i'J 

4111 

■y -I'll 

loui-e 411.; 

4n:( 

4114 

4117 

411^ 

iiulmill 41H.1 

4111 

41" 

iiirtors' 411 

lerity 41.i 

ill,    looking 

-m 

Butts's  Hill, 

414 

USUSti!D,n7S  414 
mi  old  Pi'int  ll.'i 
;litoii  Uoclc. .  41(1 
e,  Uiiyiiliam.  41'.' 
ill! 4JII 

irbov,    north 

4l'1 

t 4'Jl 

SI  (Map)....  4J.' 
Fort  Trum- 

42". 

er  Stiiliou. . .  4'.'4 

London 4'2r> 

Monument ..  4'jr, 

t 4-.'; 

42:1 

Indian  For- 

4;iii 

4;)i 

4;!:i 

rwicli 4:' I 

4:;;i 

icns  and  his 

4:iii 

It 4:iT 

ce 4:iT 

Wiiycide 4:i>- 

onV  House  . .  4;h^ 
•norHunting- 

4:!ft 

hurch 4411 

4411 

-HI    Bff 

444     . 

imorial 44ii    ■" 

44'.i 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


''''**^ 


CHAPTER  I. 


NEW   ENGLAND   OF  THE   ANCIENTS. 


"This  is  the  forest  priineviil.    The  murmuring  pines  and  the  licmlocks. 
Bearded  with  moss,  and  witli  garments  green,  indistinct  in  the  twiligiit, 
Stand  lii^e  Druids  of  Old,  witii  voices  snd  and  proplietic, 
Stand  like  harpers  hoar,  with  beards  that  rest  on  their  bosoms. 
Loud  from  its  rocky  caverns  the  deep-voiceil  neighhoring  ocean 
Speaks,  and  in  accents  disconsolate  answers  tiie  wail  of  the  forest." 

Longfellow. 

IX  many  respects  the  sea-coast  of  IMaiiie  is  the  most  rcmarkame  of  New 
[  Eiiglaiul.  It  is  serrated  with  craggy  projections,  studdeil  with  liarbors, 
seamed  with  inlets.  IJroad  bays  conduct  to  rivers  of  great  volume  thai,  an- 
'nually  bear  her  forests  down  to  the  sea.  Iler  shores  are  barricaded  with 
islands,  and  her  waters  teem  with  the  abundance  of  the  seas.  Seen  on  the 
map,  it  is  a  splintered,  jagged,  forbidding  sea-board ;  beheld  with  the  eye 
in  a  kindly  season,  its  tawny  headlands,  green  archipelagos,  and  inviting  har- 

2 


18 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


V. 


I"! 


bors,  infolding  sites  recalling  llic  earlier  ettbrta  at  P^uropean  colonization, 
combine  in  a  wondrons  cb'gree  to  win  the  admiration  of  the  man  of  scieuci', 
of  letters,  or  of  leisnre, 

Maine  embraces  within  her  limits  the  scmi-fabulons  Nornmbega  and  ]M,i- 
voshen  of  ancient  writers.  Some  ])ortion  of  her  territory  has  been  known 
at  various  times  by  tlic  names  of  Acadia,  New  France,  and  New  Englainl, 
The  arms  of  France  and  of  England  have  alternately  been  erected  on  lier  soil. 
and  the  flags  of  at  least  four  powerful  states  have  claimed  her  subjection. 
The  most  nimerous  and  warlike  of  the  primitive  New  England  nations  wcro 
seated  hei  ■.  Traces  of  French  occui)ati()n  are  remaining  in  the  names  of  St, 
Croix,  Mo'  nt  Desei-t,  Isle  au  Ilaut,  and  Castinc,  names  which  neither  treaties 
nor  national  prejudice  have  been  quite  able  to  eradicate. 

The  name  of  Norumbega,  or  Norembegue,  the  eai  liest  applied  to  New 
England,  is  attributed  to  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards.  Jean  Altbnse,  the 
])ilot  of  Roberval,  the  same  person  who  is  accredited  with  having  been  iiist 
to  navigate  the  waters  of  iNIassachusetts  Hay,  gives  them  the  credit  of  its 
discovery.  It  is  true  that  ]\[arc  Lescarbot,  the  Parisian  advocate  whose  re- 
lations are  the  foundations  of  so  many  others,  was  at  the  colony  of  Port 
Royal  in  the  year  1G06,  with  Pontgrave,  Ciiamplain,  and  I)e  Poutrincourt. 
This  writer  discredits  all  of  Alfonse's  statement  in  relation  to  the  sroat 
river  and  coast  of  Norumbega,  except  that  part  of  it  in  wliicb  he  says  the 
river  liad  at  its  entrance  many  islands,  banks,  and  rocks.  In  this  fragment 
fiom  the  '■'■YoycKjes  Aventureux''''  of  Alfonse,  the  embouchure  of  the  river 
of  Norumbega  is  placed  in  thirty  degrees  ("trente  degrez")  and  the  pilut 
states  that  from  thence  the  coast  turns  to  the  west  and  west-north-west  for 
more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  leagues.'  The  most  casual  reader  will  know 
how  to  value  such  a  relation  without  reference  to  the  sarcasm  of  Lescarbot, 
when  he  says,  "And  well  may  he  call  his  voyages  adventurous,  not  for  him- 
self, who  was  never  in  the  hundredth  part  of  the  places  which  he  describes 
(at  least  it  is  easy  to  conjecture  so),  but  for  those  who  might  wish  to  follow 
the  routes  which  he  directs  the  mariner  to  follow."  After  this,  his  claim  to 
be  considered  the  first  European  navigator  in  Massachusetts  Bay  must  be  re- 
ceived with  many  grains  of  allowance. 

Champlain,  who  remained  in  the  country  through  the  winter  of  1605,  on 
purpose  to  complete  his  map,  has  this  to  say  of  the  river  and  city  of  Norum- 
bega; he  is  writing  of  the  Penobscot: 

"  I  believe  this  river  is  that  which  several  historians  call  Norumbcguc, 
and  which  the  greater  part  have  written,  is  large  and  spacious,  with  many 
islands;  and  its  entrance  in  forty-tiiree  and  forty-three  and  a  half;  and  otheis 
in  forty-four,  more  or  less,  of  latitude.     As  for  the  declination,  I  have  neither 


ad 
popil 
Sati- 
Been  I 
tlian| 
emb(| 
that 
but 
it  in  I 
Willi 
on  hi 
ll 
160/ 
rive  I 
and 
6nou 
is  nc 
It  al 
river 
Kovi 
ively 
Orsii 
answ 
fctrea 
-corn 
inctt 
#  cc 
"  ^lisl 
'\ 
endt 
iiort 
leag 
lenp 
jile 
witl 
uia} 
lliii 
<'op 

was 


'  "Et  (|iic  i)asse'  cette  riviere  )a  cote  tourne  a  I'Oiiest  et  Ouest-Noroucst  plus  de  deux  ceiis  cin- 
qimnte  lieiies,"etc. 


a  vr 


fll 


colonization, 
m  of  scit'iicu, 

>c'gii  and  31,1. 

been  known 

ow  Englaml, 

1  oil  her  soil, 

!•   SIl1)J('Cti(i||. 

nations  wc  ro 
nanicH  of  St. 
itiier  Ireativs 

Ii('(l  to  New 
^Alfonso,  tlif 
ig  been  iirst 
credit  of  its 
;e  whose  re- 
ony  of  Port 
outrincouit. 
0  tlie  great 
he  says  the 
is  fragment 

f  the  river 
d  the  pihii 
•th-\vest  for 
V  will  know 

Lescarbot, 
ot  for  hini- 
e  describes 

1  to  follow 
IS  claim  t(» 
mist  be  re- 

if  1G05,  oil 
of  Noruiii- 

rumbcgiu'. 
iith  many 
md  other-^ 
ve  neither 


NKW   ENGLAND  OF  THE  ANCIENTS. 


10 


""%. 


ad  nor  hoard  any  one  si)eak  of  it.  They  describe  also  a  groat  and  very 
^ojinloiis  city  of  natives,  dexterous  and  skillful,  liaving  cotton  cloth.  T  am 
aalislied  that  the  major  part  of  those  who  make  mention  of  it  have  never 
80(11  it,  and  speak  from  the  hearsay  evideiiee  of  those  who  know  no  more 
than  themselves.  I  can  well  believe  that  there  are  some  who  have  seen  the 
embouelmre,  for  the  reason  that  there  are,  in  fact,  many  islands  there,  and 
that  it  lies  in  the  latitude  of  forty-four  degrees  at  its  entranee,  as  they  say  ; 
but  that  any  have  entered  it  is  not  credible;  for  they  must  have  described 
it  ill  (piite  another  manner  to  have  removed  this  doubt  from  many  i»eople." 
With  this  i)rotest  Chaniplain  admits  the  country  of  Norumbega  to  a  place 
on  his  map  of  1G12. 

In  the  "-JUstoire  Universelle  des  Indcs  Occidentaks,''^  printed  at  Douay  in 
1607,  the  author,  after  describing  Virginia,  speaks  of  Norumbega,  its  great 
vivor  and  beautiful  city.  The  mouth  of  tiie  river  is  fixed  in  tlie  forty-fourth 
and  the  pretended  city  in  the  forty-lifth  degree,  which  approxima.es  closely 
enough  to  the  actual  latitude  of  the  renobscot.  Tiiis  authority  adds,  that  it 
is  not  known  whence  tlie  name  originated,  for  the  Indians  called  it  Agguncia.' 
It  also  refers  to  the  island  well  situated  for  fishery  at  the  mouth  of  the  great 
yiver.  On  the  map  of  Ortelius  (1003)  the  two  countries  of  Norumbega  and 
Kova  Francia  occupy  what  is  now  Nova  Scotia  and  New  England  respect- 
ivily.  The  only  features  laid  down  in  Nova  Francia  by  name  are  "IJ.  Grande 
Orsinora,"  "C.  do  lagnas  islas,"  and  "^Montagues  St.  Jean."  These  localities 
answer  reasonably  well  to  as  many  conjectures  as  there  are  mountains, 
Blreunis,  and  capos  in  New  England;  there  is  no  projection  of  the  coast 
Corresponding  with  Cape  Cod.  Cliam])lain  names  the  River  Penobscot,  Pe- 
hi(te;.';()it.  By  this  appellation,  with  some  trivial  change  in  orthography, 
continued  known  to  the  French  until  its  final  repossession  by  the  En- 
rlisli.^ 

f      T.irniiig  to  the  "jiainful  collections  of  ^Master  Hakluyt,"  the  old   preb- 

oiulary  of  Bristol,  we  find  Mavoshon  described  as  "a  country  lying  to  tlie 

north   and  by  east  of  Virginia,  between    the  degrees  of  4.3   and  45,  fortie 

^leagues  broad  and  fifty  in  lengtli,  lying  in  breadth   oast  and  west,  and   in 

:  length  north  and  south.     It  is  bordered  on  the  oast  with  a  eountrey,  the  peo- 

4  pie  whereof  they  call  Tarrantines,  on  the  west  with  Epistoman,  on  the  north 

'H  with  a  very  great  wood,  called  Senaglecounc,  and   on   the   soutli   with   the 

inayne  ocean  sea  and  many  islands."    In  all  those  relations  there  is  some- 


1 


#  thing  of  fact,  but  much  more  that  is  too  unsubstantial  for  the  historian's  ac 

-4. 


I  ceptance.     The  voyages  of  the  Norsemen,  of  Do  Rut,  and  Thevet  are  still  a 


4 


iix  cens  ciii- 


'  The  monk  Andre  Thevet,  who  ])rofes.ses  to  Imve  visited  Norumbega  Kiver  in  Itt'ti),  says  it 
M  was  called  by  the  natives  "Agoiicy." 
>s         "  Aceording  t(j  the  Abbe  Mauraiilt,  I'entagoet,  in  the  Indian  vocabidary,  signiiies  "a  i)lace  in 
.J    a  river  where  there  are  rapids."    On  tiie  authority  of  the  "  History  of  tlie  Abeiiaquis,"  renobscot 
,;    is,  "where  the  land  is  stony,  or  covered  with  rocks." 


f, 

I 

I 

•  \ 


¥ 


20 


TIIK  NKVV  ENGLAND  COAST. 


(lisputcMi  and  a  barren  tioUl.    I  do  not  propose  here  to  indulge  in  speculatitms 

respecling  them. 

Francis  I.  demanded,  it  is  said,  to  be  sliown  that  clause  in  the  will  <>\' 

r  -  .   Adam    which    disinheritcil 

him  in  the  New  World  tiir 
the  benefit  of  the  Spun- 
iards.  Under  liis  favnr, 
the  Florentine  \'erra/,;iiii 
put  to  sea  from  Dieppe,  in 
Le  Dauphine,  in  the  year 
1524.'  By  virtue  of  his 
discoveries  the  French  na- 
tion claimed  all  the  terri- 
tory now  included  in  New 
England.  The  astute  Fran- 
cis followed  up  the  clew- 
by  disj)atching,  in  15;!K 
Jacques  Cartier  in  .Im 
Grande  Ilermine.  I)es))ite 
the  busy  times  in  Europe, 
near  the  close  of  his  reign, 
Henry  IV.  continued  to  fa- 
vor projects  continuing  tlic 
footing  obtained  by  his 
predecessors.  Until  1G14, 
when  the  name  of  New- 
England  first  appeared  on 
Smith's    map,  the   French 

JACQUES  CAllTIEB.  Jjj^j     ^J^^     5,^,,^^.     ^,f    j^^j^i;,,^ 

about  all  that  was  known  to  the  geography  of  its  sea-board. 

There  can  now  be  no  harm  in  saying  that  Caj)tain  John  Smith  was  not 
the  first  to  give  a  Christian  name  to  New  England.  The  Florentine  Veria- 
zani  called  it,  in  1624,  New  France,  when  he  traversed  the  coasts  from  tlu' 
thirty-fourth  parallel  to  Newfoundland,  or  Prinm  Vista.  Sebastian  Cabnt 
may  have  seen  it  before  him;  but  this  is  only  conjecture,  though  our  greai- 
grandfathers  were  willing  to  spill  their  blood  rather  than  have  it  called  New- 
France.  According  to  the  "jVrodorn  I'^niversal  History,"  Cabot  confessedly 
took  formal  possession  of  Newfoundhind  and  Norumbega,  whence  he  carried 
off  three  natives.  In  the  "77ie«^re  Universel  (V OrteUus'''' ihavc  is  a  map  of' 
America,  engraved  in  1572,  and  very  minute,  in  which  all  the  countries  north 


*m 


'  It  is  cuiioiis  thiit  three  Ifnlians — Columbus,  Cabot,  nnd  Verrnisaiii — should  lead  all  others  in 
the  discoveries  of  the  American  continent. 


NKW   KN(iLANI)  OF  'J'llK   ANCIENTS. 


21 


icculatioiis 

he  will  <if 
lisiiilu'rilcil 
World  lor 
the   S|)iiii- 
his    fav(ir, 
W'rraziiiii 
Dii'pl)*.',  ill 
n  the  year 
tuo    of   his 
French  ii:i- 
I  the  IcMii- 
IchI  ill  Now 
istute  Frau- 
[)  the   ck'W 
f,    ill    15.'i4, 
er     in     Jm 
ne.   I)es])ile 
in  Euro] to, 
3fhis  rein'ii, 
linued  to  I'a- 
itirminf;  llu' 
d    by    his 
Until  1014, 

0  of  Now 
tpeared  on 

the   French 
of  adding 

th  was  not 
line  Verr.v 
s  from  tin' 
lian  Cabiit 
our  great- 
called  New 
confessedly 
i  he  carricil 
;  a  map  nt 
itries  noi'tli 

1  all  others  in 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH. 


W  and  south  are  entitled  New  France.     "The  En-lish,"  says  a  French   au- 
f|  ihority,  "had  as  yet  nothing  in  that  country,  and  tlieie  is  nothing  set  down 
on  this  map  for  them." 

In  ^creator's  atlas  of  HV2•^  is  a  general  map  of  America,  which  culls  all 
(li(^   territory   north   and    south    of 
Canada.  New    France;      New   En- 
gland docs  not  find  a  place  on  this 
map.    Canada  is  down  as  a  particu- 
lar province.     Virginia  is  also  there. 
Captain  .Tohii   Smith's   map  of 
Uow     England     of    1014    contains 
nianv    singular    features.       In    his 
^'Description    of    New    England," 
printed  in  IGIG,  the  Indian   names 
are  given  of  all  their  coast  settle- 
nionts.       Prince    Charles,  however, 
ftltered  these  to  English  names  af- 
•  tor  the  book  was  printed.     Tiie  re- 
jtention   of  some    of  them   by    the 
%ctual  settlers  might  be  accidental, 
.^v|l)iit  they  appear   much  as  if  scat- 
fftcred    at  random   over   the    paper. 
*' I'limoulh"  is  where  it  was  located  six  years  after  the  date  of  the  map. 
t    .Ttnk  is  called  Boston, and  Agamenticus  "Snadoun  Hill."    I'enobscot  is  called 
"I'ombrock's  Bay." 

The  name  of  Cnpe  Breton  is  said  to  occur  on  very  early  maps,  antecedent 

^\  (ii  to  Cartier's  voyage.     A  ma])  of  Henry  II.  is  the  oldest  mentioned.     "  Nu- 

rriiibega"  is  on  a  map  in  "Xd  litceuU  de  lianiusius,'''"  tome  iii.,  where  there  is 

an  account  of  a  Frenchman  of  Dieppe,  and  a  map  made  before  the  discovery 

ol  ".lean  Ouartier."      It  is  asserted  that  tlie  Basipie  and  Breton  fishermen 

Mere  on  the  coast  of  America  before  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards.     Baron 

La  Ilontan  says,  "The  seamen  of  French  liiscay  are  known  to  be  the  most 

-;  iil)le  and  dexterous  mariners  (hat  are  in  the  world."      It  is  ])retty  certain 

ithat  Cape  Breton  had  this  name  before  the  voyages  of  Cartier  or  Cliam- 

:^]ilaiii.     The  Frenchman  of  Dieppe  is  supposed  to  be  Thomas  Aubert,  whose 

I  discovery  is  assigned  to  the  year  loOS. 

M       The  atlas  of  Guillaume  and  John  Blauw  has  a  map  of  America  in  tome  i. 

M  Tiiore  is  a  second,  entitled  A  orr/  liihjh'a  and  N^ora  Auf/llca.     New  England 

--^extends  no  further  than  the  Kennebec,  where  be<'ins  the  territory  of  Xoca 

I  Francioi  Pars,  in  which  Nonimbega  is  located.     The  rivers  Pentagouet  and 

Cliouacouet  (Saco)  appear  properly  placed.     The  map  bears  certain  marks  in 

'  Ginmbettii  Rnmusio,  the  Venetian. 


0^'' 


22 


THK   NKW   KN(lLANl)   COAST. 


its  nnmonrlaturo,  and  tlic  cmificjuration  of  tli(!  coast,  of  being  compilcil  from 
those  of  I'liainjilain  and  Sniilli.' 

JJc'si'arclu's  made  in  Knuland,  Franco,  and  Holland,  at  tlie  instance  of  Mas- 
Baclinsetts  and  New  York,'^  have  resnlted  in  the  recovery  of  many  inai\ii- 
scrip't  frajifuients  more  or  less  interestinj;,  bearing  upon  tlie  (luestion  of  )»ri- 
ority  of  discovery.  Of  tliese  tlie  following  is  not  the  least  curious.  If  crr- 
dence  may  be  placed  in  the  author  of  the  ^'■Metnoircs  jiow  Hcrvlr  d  rifitttolre 
lie  JJiipjx',''^  '■^Itcflictrhes  snr  les  Voyages  ct  ilecounnrtes  (lets  Natnyatcurs  Nor- 
niauih,^^  and  ^'•Xariya fours  Fnifirais,''^  the  continent  of  America  was  discover- 
ed by  Ca])tain  Cousin  in  the  year  1488.  Sailing  from  Dieppe,  he  was  carriid 
westward  by  a  gale,  and  drawn  by  curroits  to  an  unknown  coast,  where  ho 
saw  the  mouth  of  a  large  river. 

Cousin's  first  officer  was  "  un  ctranger  nomine  Pinyon  on  Pinzoti,"  who  in- 
stigated the  men  to  mutiny,  and  was  so  turbulent  that,  on  the  return  of  the 
caravel,  Cousin  charged  him  before  the  magistrates  of  Dieppe  with  mutiny, 
insubordination,  and  violence.  He  was  banished  from  the  city,  and  embarked 
four  years  afterward,  say  the  Dieppois,  with  Christopher  Columbus,  to  whom 
he  liad  given  information  of  the  \ew  World,' 

111  the  '■^Bihllotheque  Royale''''  of  Paris  there  is,  or  rather  was,  existing  a 
manuscript  (dated  in  154"))  entitled  "C'o.sv/ky/jv//)///*?  dc  J('(nt  Alfonve  le  Xain- 
toiiffcois.''''  It  is  undoubtedly  from  this  manuscript  that  Jean  do  ^larnef  and 
De  St.  Gelais  compiled  the  "  Voyages  Acenturei/x  dWfonce  J^abitonyeois^^ 
])rintcd  in  1559,  which  includes  an  expedition  along  the  f'oast  from  New- 
foundland southwardly  to  "une  baye  jusques  par  les  42  degres,  entre  la  No* 
rembegue  et  la  Fleiiride,'"  in  1543. 

Of  Jean  Altbnse  it  is  known  that  he  was  one  of  llobervaPs  julots,  in  his 
voyage  of  154'J  to  Canada,  and  that  he  returned  home  with  Cartier.  llober- 
val  expected  to  find  a  north-west  passage,  and  Jean  Alfonso,  who  searched 
the  coast  for  it,  believed  the  land  he  saw  to  the  southward  to  be  part  of  the 
continent  of  Asia.  His  cruise  within  the  latitude  of  ^Massachusetts  Bay  is 
also  mentioned  by  Hakluyt.  The  claim  of  Alfonso  to  bo  the  discoverer  of 
Mitssachiisetts  Bay  has  been  set  forth  with  due  prominence.'*  Alfonso  and 
Ciiamplaiii  wore  both  from  the  same  old  ))rovinco  in  the  west  of  Franco. 

It  goes  without  dispute  that  the  older  French  historians  knew  little  or 


'  Champlain's  mnp  of  1G12  is  entitled  "  Cartk  Geographiqve  de  la  Novvelle  France 

FAICTTE  PAR    LE    SlEVR    DE   CHAMPLAIN    SaINT    ToNGOIS,  CaPPITAINE    ORDINAIRE   POVR    LE 

Rov  EN  LA  Marine.  Fakt  Icn  1612."  All  the  tenitoiy  from  Lal)ra(lor  to  Cape  Cod  is  em- 
braced in  tliis  rery  curions  map.  Some  of  its  details  \vill  l)e  introduced  in  snccessive  chapters  as 
occasion  may  demand.  There  is  another  ma])  of  Cluunplaiu  of  1G32, /or<  detailU,  but  of  less 
rarity  than  the  first. 

"  Uy  Ben  I'erley  I'oore  and  Jolm  Konieyn  IJrodhead. 

'  "Massachusetts  Archives,  French  Documents, "vol.  i.,  p.  2G9. 

*  Rev.  B.  F.  De  Costa's  "Northmen  in  Maine." 


NEW   ENGLAND   ()F    THE   ANCIENTS. 


2;) 


piled  from 

u'(!  of  M:is- 
iviiy  inatiii- 
ion  of  pil- 
ls. If  cro- 
I  rilistoire 
'.teurs  N^or- 
,s  (liscovcr- 
ivas  carriiil 
t,  wlicvc  Iio 

n,"  Avlio  in- 
turn  of  the 
til  tiiutiny, 
I  omliarkcd 
18,  to  whom 

,  existincf  a 
ce  le  A'aiii- 
MariK'f  ami 
iitoni/eois,''^ 
from  New- 
litre  la  No- 

ilots,  in  his 
r.  Ivobcr- 
o  searc'hotl 
part  of  tlio 
t!tts  Bay  is 
coverer  of 
Ifonse  and 
•anco. 
w  little  or 


KLi.E  Franti: 
IRE  rovR  !.i: 
e  Cod  is  eiii- 
ve  clinpters  as 
'«,  but  of  less 


I 


ii..thin<?  of  Ilakluyt  and  ruivhas.  So  little  did  the  allairs  of  the  New 
World  ciitratro  their  attention,  that  in  the  "History  of  France,"  by  Fulher 
J)aiiicl,  printed  at  Amster- 
dam in  ITi'O,  by  the  Com- 
pany of  Jesuits,  in  six  pon- 
(k-rous  tomes,  the  discover- 
ies'and  settlements  in  New 
France  (Canada)  occni)y  no 
iiun-e  than  a  dozen  lines. 
Cartiir,  I{(d)('rval,l)eM«)iits, 
and  Clianiplain  are  niention- 
eil,  and  that  is  all. 

When  a  vessel  of  the  old 
iiaviijfators  was  ai)proachint? 
the  coast, the  precaution  was 
taken  of  seiidiiiij  sailors  to 
the  mast-huad.  These  look- 
outs were  relieved  every 
two  hour.}  nntil  night-fall,  at 
which  time,  if  the  land  was 
not  yet  in  siyht,  they  furl- 
ed tiieir  sails  so  as  to  make 
little  or  no  way  during  the 
night.  It  was  a  matter  of 
emulation  among  the  ship's 
company  who  should  first 
discover  the  land,  as  the 
passengers  usually  present- 
ed the  lucky  one  with  some 
])istolos.  One  writer  men- 
tions that  on  board  French 
vessels,  after  sighting  Cape  Race,  the  ceremony  known  among  us  as  "cross- 
ing the  line"  was  performed  by  the  old  salts  on  the  green  hands,  without  re- 
gard to  season. 

The  method  of  taking  possession  of  a  new  country  is  thus  described  in 
tho  old  chronicles:  .Tacques  Cartier  erected  a  cross  thirty  feet  high,  on  which 
was  suspended  a  shield  with  the  arms  of  France  and  the  Words  "  Vive  le  Iio;/.'''' 
Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  in  1583,  raised  a  pillar  at  Xewfoundland,  with  a  plate 
of  lead,  havinti  the  queen's  arms  "graven  thereon."  A  turf  and  a  twig  were 
presented  to  him,  which  he  received  with  a  hazel  wand.  The  expression  "by 
turf  and  twig,"  a  symbol  of  actual  possession  of  the  soil  and  its  products,  is 
still  to  be  met  with  in  older  Xew  England  records. 

Douglass,  the  American  historian,  speaking  of  Henry  IV.,  says,  "He  plant- 


FIEKKE   DU  GUA8T,  SIEUK   HE  MONTS. 


24 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


SIU  nUMPIIKEY    GII.HEKT. 


ed  a  colony  in  Canadii  wliioh  subsists  to  this  day.     ]May  it  not  long  subsist ; 
it  is  a  nuisaupo  to  our  North  Amoriciin  si'ttlonionts :   Ddendd  est  Cavtluu/o."' 
The  insigiiiticant  attempt  of  Gosnold,  in  lOO.'J,  and  the  disastrous  one  of 

Popliani,  in  1G07,  contributed  lit- 
tle to  the  knowledge  of  New- 
England,  ]jut  the  absence  of 
any  actual  possession  of  the  soil 
did  not  prevent  the  exercise  of 
unworthy  violence  toward  in- 
truders on  tlie  territoiy  claimed 
by  the  English  crown.  In  101.'! 
Sir  Samuel  Argall  broke  up  the 
-  French  settlement  begun  at  Blount 
Desert  in  that  year,  opening  tire 
on  the  unsusjK'Cting  colonists  be- 
ibre  lie  gave  himself  the  trouble 
of  a  formal  sninmons.  Those  of 
other  nations  fared  little  better,  as 
the  following  recital  will  show: 
Purchas  relates  that  "Sir  Bcr- 
nard  Drake,  a  Devonshire  knight,  came  to  Newfoundland  with  a  commission; 
and  having  divers  good  ships  under  his  command,  he  took  uumy  Portugal 
ships,  and  brought  them  into  England  as  prizes. 

"Sir  Bernard,  as  was  said,  having  taken  a  Portugal  ship,  and  brought  her 
into  one  of  our  western  ports,  the  seamen  that  were  therein  were  sent  to  the 
prison  adjoining  the  Castle  of  Exeter.  At  the  next  assizes  held  at  the  castle 
there,  about  the  27th  of  Queen  Elizabeth,,  when  the  ])iisoners  of  the  county 
were  brought  to  be  ai'raigned  before  Sergeant  F'ov.erby,  one  of  the  judges 
a])pointed  for  this  westei'u  circuit  at  that  tinu",  suddenly  there  arose  such  a 
noisome  smell  from  the  bar  that  a  great  number  of  people  there  present  were 
therewith  infected  ;  whereof  in  a  very  short  time  after  died  the  said  judge, 
Sir  John  Cliichester,  Sir  Arthur  Dassett,  and  Sir  Jjcrnard  Drake,  knights,  and 
justices  of  the  peace  there  sitting  on  tin;  bench;  and  eleven  of  the  jury  im- 
paneled, the  twelfth  only  escaping;  with  divers  other  persons." 

Captain  John  Smith  says:  "Tlie  most  northern  part  I  was  at  was  the  Hay 
of  Penobscot,  which  is  east  and  west,  north  and  south,  more  than  ten  leagues; 
but  such  were  my  occasions  I  was  constraine(.  to  be  satisfied  of  them  I  found 
in  the  l>ay,  that  the  river  ran  far  up  into  the  land,  and  was  well  iidiabited 
with  many  ])eo])le  ;  but  they  were  from  their  habitations,  either  fishing  anu)ng 
the  isles,  or  hunting  the  lakes  and  woods  for  deer  and  beavers. 

"Tlie  bay  is  full  of  great  islands  of  one,  two,  six,  eight,  or  ten  miles  in 
length,  which  divide  it  into  many  faire  and  excellent  good  harbours.  On 
the  east  of  it  are  the  Tarrantines,  their  mortal  enemies,  where  inhabit  the 


:?sfc. 


ig  subsist ; 
^irthcujo.'''' 
ous  one  of 
•ibutc'd  lil- 
L*  of  Now 
bscnee  of 
of  the  soil 
'XcTcise  of 
owanl  in- 
ry  fhiiiiK'il 
.  In  10l;J 
)ke  up  the 
in  at  Blount 
jicning  tire 
)lonists  bc- 
tlie  trouble 
Tlioso  of 
le  better,  as 
ill  sliow : 
It  "  Sir  Ber- 
onunission ; 
y  l*ortugal 

irouglit  her 
sent  to  tlie 
tlie  castle 
tlie  county 
the  judges 
ose  sucli  a 
eseut  were 
*ai(l  judge, 
lights,  an<l 
e  jury  ini- 

as  the  l>ay 

_'n  leagiu's; 
em  I  fiiund 
inliahitcil 


nig  among 


II  miles  ui 
Mturs.  On 
nliabit  the 


NEW  ENGLAND  OF  THE  ANCIENTS.  25 

French,  as  liiey  report,  that  live  with  these   people  as  one  nation  or  fam- 


ilv, 


li  the  P]nglish  had  no  special  reason  for  selfgratnhation  in  the  quality  of 
the  emigrants  first  introduced  into  New  England,  the  Frencli  liave  as  little 
ground  to  value  themselves.  In  order  to  people  Acadia,  De  Moiits  begged 
])erinission  of  Henri  Qiiatre  to  take  the  vagabonds  that  might  be  collected  in 
the  cities,  or  wandering  at  large  through  the  country.  The  king  acceded  to 
the  request.'  ''■ 


FACSIMILE   OF  FIUST   MAI'  UNGHAVED   IN   NEW  ENGLAND. 

Again,  in  a  memoir  on  the  state  of  the  Frencli  plantations,  tlie  following 
passage  occurs:  "The  post  of  Peiitagouet,  being  at  the  head  of  mII  Acadia 
on  the  side  of  IJoston,  appears  to  have  been  principally  strenglhened  by  the 
sending  over  of  men  and  courtesans  tliat  liis  majesty  would  liave  emigrate 
there  for  the  purpose  of  marrying,  so  that  this  portion  of  the  colony  may  re- 
ceive the  accessions  necessary  to  sustain  it  against  its  neighbors."" 

These  statements  are  supported  by  the  testimony  of  the  Baron  La  Ilon- 
taii,  who  relates  that,  after  the  reorganization  of  the  troops  in  Canada,  "sev- 
eral ships  were  sent  hither  from  Fiance  with  a  cargo  of  women  of  ordinary 
reputation,  under  the  direction  of  some  old  stale  nuns,  who  ran-a'd  them  in 


'  "Mess.  Archives,  Fiencli  Documents." 


Ibid. 


26 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COAST. 


three  cl.asses.  The  vestal  virgins  were  heaped  up  (if  I  may  so  speak),  ono 
above  another,  in  tliree  different  apartments,  where  the  bridegrooms  singl('(l 
out  their  brides  just  as  !i  buteher  does  ewes  from  among  a  flock  of  slieep. 
The  sparks  that  wanted  to  be  married  made  their  addresses  to  the  above- 
mentioned  governesses,  to  whom  they  were  obliged  to  give  an  account  of 
their  goods  and  estates  before  they  were  allowed  to  make  their  choice  in  the 
seraglio."  After  the  selection  was  made,  the  marriage  was  concluded  on  the 
spot,  in  presence  of  a  priest  and  a  notary,  the  governor-general  usually  pre- 
senting the  happy  couple  with  some  domestic  animals  with  which  to  begin 
life  anew. 

When  the  number  of  historical  precedents  is  taken  into  account,  the  su- 
perstition long  current  among  mariners  with  regard  to  setting  sail  on  Friday 
seems  unaccountable.  Columbus  sailed  from  Spain  on  Friday,  discovered 
land  on  Friday,  and  returned  to  Palos  on  Friday.  Cabot  discovered  the 
American  continent  on  Friday.  Gosnold  sailed  from  England  on  Friday, 
made  land  on  Friday,  and  came  to  anchor  on  Friday  at  Exmouth.  These 
coincidences  might,  it  would  seem,  dispel,  ^\ith  American  mariners  at  least, 
something  of  the  dread  with  which  a  voyage  begun  on  that  day  has  long 
beeu  regarded. 


;poak),oiio 
ins  siiigU'il 
:  of  slieep. 
the  abovo- 
ivccouut  of 
loice  in  the 
(U'll  on  the 
isually  pvu- 
h  to  begin 

lilt,  the  su- 
1  on  Fricliiy 

discovered 
covered  tlie 

on  Fridiiy, 
utli.  These 
Ts  at  least, 
ijy  has  long 


'•W, 

:,-,iii 


MOUNT  DESEItT,  FKOM  BLUE  HIUL  BAY. 


ciiaptf:r  II. 

MOUNT   DESEUT   ISLAND. 

"There,  gloomily  against  the  sky, 
The  Dark  Isles  rear  their  sumniit.s  high ; 
And  Desert  Rock,  ahriipt  and  hare, 
Lifts  its  gray  turrets  in  the  air." 

Whittier. 

ISLANDS  possess,  of  tlieniselves,  a  magnetism  not  vouclisafetl  to  any  spot 
of  the  main-land.  In  cutting  loose  from  the  continent  a  feeling  of  freedom 
J's  at  once  experienced  that  comes  spontaneously,  and  abides  no  longer  than 
on  remain  an  islander.  You  are  conscious,  in  again  setting  foot  on  the  main 
fihiire,  of  a  change,  which  no  analysis,  however  subtle,  will  settle  altogether  to 
\<>\\v  liking.  Upon  islands  the  majesty  and  i)ower  of  the  ocean  come  home 
ti)  you,  as  in  mulliplying  itself  it  pervades  every  fibre  of  your  eoiisciousness, 
gaining  in  vastness  as  you  grow  in  knowledge  of  it.  On  islands  it  is  always 
pic'sent — always  roaring  at  your  feet,  or  moaning  at  your  back. 

Islands  have  had  no  little  share  in  the  world's  doings.  Corsica,  Elba,  and 
I  St.  Helena  are  liidied  together  by  an  unbroken  historical  chain.  Homer  and 
|the  isles  of  Greece,  Capri  ami  Tiberius  loom  in  the  twilight  of  antiquity. 
iThinking  on  Garib.'ddi  or  Victor  lluao,  the  mind  instinctively  lodi>es  on  Ca- 
Iprera  or  Guernsey.  An  island  was  the  death  of  I'hilip  II.,  and  the  ruin  of 
iNapoleon.  In  the  New  World,  Santo  Domingo,  Cuba,  and  Newfoundland 
I  were  Urst  visited  by  Europeans. 

The  islands  of  the  New  England  coast  have  become  beacons  of  her  history. 
[Mount  Desert,  Monhegan,  find  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  Clark's  Island,  Nantucket, 
The  \'ineyard,  and  Ivhode  Island  have  havens  where  the  historian  or  antiqua- 
Iry  must  put  in  before  landing  on  broader  ground.     I  might  name  a  score  of 


28 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


others  of  lessor  note;  these  are  phinets  in  our  watery  system.  On  this  line 
many  peaceful  sui.imer  campaigns  have  been  brought  to  a  happy  conclusimi. 
Not  a  iV'W  have  ch'scribed  the  more  genial  as])ects  of  Mount  Desert.  It  has 
in  fact  given  employment  to  many  busy  pens  and  famous  pencils.  I  am  not 
aware  that  its  wintry  guise  has  been  portrayed  on  paper  or  on  canvas.  The 
very  name  is  instinctively  associated  with  an  idea  of  desolateness: 

"The  gniy  niul  tliiincler-Hiiiitti'n  y'He 
Wliich  nmiki  afar  the  ])eseit  Isle." 


Champlain  was  no  doubt  impressed  by  the  sight  of  its  craggy  summits, 
stripped  of  trees,  basking  their  scarred  and  splintered  steeps  in  a  Se2)tember 
sun.     "  1  have  called  it,"  he  says.  "  the  Isle  of  INIonts  Deserts." 

In  a  little  ^'' putUtche''''  of  only  seven- 
teen or  eighteen  tons  burden,  he  had  set 
out  on  the  2d  of  8ei)tember,  1004,  from 
St.  C!!roix,  to  explore  the  coast  of  Noruin- 
bega.  Two  natives  accompanied  him  as 
guides.  Tiie  same  day,  as  they  passed 
close  to  an  island  four  or  five  leagui's 
long,  their  bark  sti'uck  a  liardly  sub- 
merged rock,  which  tore  a  hole  near  the 


lliir 
.So 


i/SvVMtl   s(  4."         A    ,  ,  i\ 


:««*■ fv:^.^?>;I,.-,„r.r, 


•<aS» 


n 


(.un>,'l. 


MAP  OF   MOUNT   DESEUT   ISLAND. 


MOUNT  DESERT  ISLAND. 


29 


1  this  line 
onclusion. 
•t.     It  li:is 
I  iiin  not  '■ 
ivas.     The 


m 


V  summits, 
Scptembti' 

only  soven- 
,  ho  had  set 
,  ]  G04,  iVoin 
■j  of  Xovnni- 
uic'd  liim  as 
thoy  passinl 
Sve  leaguos 
hardly  sub- 
olo  near  the 


Kccl.  They  either  sailed  around  the  island,  or  explored  it  by  land,  as  the 
Btrait  between  it  and  the  main-land  is  described  as  being  not  more  than  a 
hundred  paces  in 
breadth.  "The 
land,"  continues  the 
French  voyager, "  is 
very  hisih,  intersect- 
ed  by  i)asses,  aj)- 
pcaring  from  the  sea 
like  seven  or  eight 
mountains  ranged 
Bear  each  other. 
The  summits  of  the 
greater  part  of  these 
ari;  bare  of  trees,  be- 
cause they  are  noth- 
ing but  rocks."  It 
was  during  this  voy- 
age, and  with  equal 
pertinence,  Cham- 
plain  named  Isle  au 
Ilaut.'  According 
Xn  Pure  Biard,  the 
savages  called  the 
inland  of  Mount 
Desert     "■Fcmetiq,'' 

"meaning,"  says  M.  I'Abbo   Maurault,  "that  which   is   at  the   head."      A 
ci'iwned  head  it  appears,  seen  on  land  or  sea. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  how  the  embouchure  of  the  Penobscot  is  on  either 
p  ore  guarded  by  two  such  solitary  ranges  of  mountains  as  the  Camden  and 
IMount  Desert  groups.  They  embrace  about  the  same  number  of  individual 
]ii  aks,  and  approximate  nearly  enough  in  altitude.  From  Camden  we  may 
i^kirt  the  shores  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  west  and  south  before 
iineting  with  another  eminence;  and  then  it  is  an  isolated  hill  standing  al- 
most upon  the  line  of  division  between  Maine  and  New  IIam])shire  that  is 
(  Mcountered.  On  the  shore  of  the  main-land,  west  of  Mount  Desert,  is  Blue 
ill,  another  lone  mountain,  Katahdin  is  still  another  astray,  of  grander 
1  rnportions,  it  is  true,  but  belonging  to  this  family  of  lost  mountains.     Al- 

ttiiDugh  they  appear  a  continuous  chain  when  massed  by  distance,  the  Mount 

'  "Clinniijlain's  Voyages,"  edit.  1013.  ^Moiiiit  Desert  wns  also  made  out  hv  tlie  TJoston  eolo- 
lists  of  KilJO.  The  reader  is  referred  for  materials  cf  .Mount  Desert's  iiistory  to  Chainpluiii,  Clmr- 
evoix,  Lesearbot,  Biard,  and  Piirclias,  vol.  iv. 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN. 


80" 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Dosort  range  is,  in  reality,  broken  into  little  family  groups,  as  exhibited  on 
the  inap. 

Another  peculiarity  of  the  Mount  Desert  chain  is  that  the  eastern  summits 
are  the  highest,  terminating  generally  in  precipitous  and  inaccessible  dill's. 
I  asked  a  village  ancient  his  idea  of  the  origin  of  these  mountains,  and  re- 
ceived it  in  two  words,  "Hove  up."  The  cluster  numbers  thirteen  eminences, 
to  which  the  title  "Old  Thirteen"  may  be  more  fitly  api)lied  than  to  any  po- 
litical community  of  modern  history.  This  assemblage  of  hills  with  lakes  in 
tlieir  laps  at  once  recalled  the  Adirondack  region,  with  some  needful  deduc- 
tions lor  the  height  and  nakedness  of  the  former  when  compared  with  the 
greater  altitudes  and  grand  old  forests  of  the  wilderness  of  northern  Xew  York. 

Should  any  adventurous  spirit,  alter  reading  these  pages,  wish  to  see  the 
Desert  Isle  in  all  its  rugged  grandeur,  he  may  do  so  at  the  cost  of  some  tri- 
fling inconveniences  that  do  not  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  summer  tourist.  In  this 
case,  Bangor  or  Bucksport  will  be  the  point  of  departure  for  a  journey  of  from 
thirty  to  forty  miles  by  stage.  I  came  to  the  island  by  steamboat  from  Bus- 
ton,  which  landed  me  at  l^ucksport;  wiience  I  made  my  way  via  Ellsworth 
to  Somesville. 

After  glancing  at  the  map  of  the  island,  I  chose  Somesville  as  a  central 
point  for  my  excursions,  because  it  lies  at  the  head  of  the  sound,  that  divides 
the  island  almost  in  two,  is  the  point  toward  ivhich  all  roads  converge, 
and  is  about  equally  distant  from  the  harbors  or  places  of  particular  resort. 
In  summer  I  should  have  adopted  tlie  same  plan  until  I  had  fully  explored 
the  siiores  of  the  Sound,  the  mountains  that  are  contiguous,  and  the  western 
half  of  the  island.  In  twenty-four  hours  the  visitor  may  know  by  heart  the 
names  of  the  mountains,  lakes,  coves,  and  settlements,  with  the  roads  leading 
to  them;  he  may  thereaiier  establish  himself  as  convenience  or  fancy  shall 
dictate.  At  Somesville  there  is  a  comfortable  hostel,  but  the  larger  summer 
hotels  are  at  Bir  Harbor  and  at  South-west  Harbor. 

The  accentuation  shoidd  not  fall  on  the  last,  but  on  the  first  syllable  of 
Desert,  although  the  name  is  almost  universally  mispronounced  in  Maine,  and 
notably  so  on  the  island  itself  Usually  it  is  Mount  Diisart,  toned  into  De^t/'^ 
by  the  castiul  population,  who  thus  give  it  a  curious  significance. 

Mount  Desert  is  one  of  the  wardens  of  Penobscot  Bay,  interposing  its  bulk 
between  the  waters  of  Frenchman's  Bay  on  the  east  and  Blue  Hill  Bay  on 
the  west.  A  bridge  unites  it  with  the  main-land  in  the  town  of  Trenton, 
where  the  oj>posito  shores  approach  within  rifle-shot  of  each  other.  Tiiis 
point  is  locally  known  as  the  Narrows.  When  I  crosseil,  the  tide  was  press- 
ing against  the  wooden  piers,  in  a  way  to  quicken  the  i)ace,  masses  of  newly- 
formed  ice  that  liad  floated  out  of  Frenchman's  Bay  with  the  morning's  ebb. 

You  get  a  glimpse  of  Mount  Desert  in  sailing  up  Penobscot  Bay,  where 
its  mountains  appear  foreshortened  into  two  cloudy  shapes  that  you  would 
fail  to  know  again.     But  the  highest  hills  between  Bucksport  and  EUswortli 


dis 

th< 
■In 
tha 
pea 
hi;, 
ren 
pec 
sea 
We 
wit 
pro; 


MOUNT  DESERT  ISLAND. 


31 


exhibited 


(Ml 


nn\  summits 
.'ssible  clilVs. 
aiiis,  ami  w- 
11  emiucnccis, 
n  to  any  po- 
^'itli  lakes  in 
eclfiil  decliiL'- 
•ed  with  the 
1  Xew  York. 
;h  to  see  tlic 
of  some  tri- 
rist.  In  this 
rney  oflVoin 
at  from  Jnis- 
la  Ells  won  li 

as  a  central 
that  divides 
Is  converge, 
eular  resort, 
lly  oxploriil 
th(i  western 

V  heart  tiie 
lads  leading 

fancy  shall 
^er  summer 

syllable  of 
Maine,  aihl 
into  Dcsi/i 

\n^  its  bulk 
ill  I>ay  oil 
)f  Trenton, 
lier.  This 
was  press- 
of  newly 
ing's  ebb. 
jay,  ■where 
y^ou  wouM 
Ellswortli 


display  the  whole  range;  and  from  the  latter  place  until  the  island  is  reached 
their  snow-laced  sides  loomed  grandly  in  the  gray  mists  of  a  December  day. 
Ill  this  condition  of  the  atmosphere  their  outlines  seemed  more  sharply  cut 
than  when  thrown  against  a  background  of  clear  blue  sky.  I  counted  eight 
pe.iks,  and  then,  on  coining  nearer,  others,  that  at  first  had  blended  with  those 
hiuher  and  more  distant  ones,  detached  themselves.  Green  Mouiitaiu  will  be 
remembered  as  the  highest  of  the  chain,  Beech  and  Dog  mountains  from  their 
peculiarity  of  outline.  A  wider  break  between  two  hills  indicates  where  the 
sea  lias  driven  the  wedge  called  Somes's  Sound  into  the  side  of  the  isle. 
Western  Mount:iin  terminates  the  range  on  the  right ;  Newport  Mountain, 
with  Bar  Harbor  at  its  foot,  is  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  group.  In  ap- 
proaching from  sea  this  order  would  ajipear  reversed. 

The  Somesville  road  is  a  nearly  direct  line  drawn  from  the  head  of  the 
Sound  to  the  Narrows.  Soon  after  passing  the  bridge,  that  to  Bar  Harbor 
diverged  to  the  left.  Crossing  a  strip  of  level  land,  we  began  the  ascent  of 
Town  Hill  through  a  dark  growth  of  cedar,  fir,  and  other  evergreen  trees.  A 
little  hamlet,  where  there  is  a  post-office,  crowns  the  summit  of  Town  Ilill. 
Not  long  after,  the  Sound  opened  into  view  one  of  those  rare  vistas  that  leave 
a  picture  for  after  remembrance,  i^':  .irst  it  seemed  a  lake  shut  in  by  the  feet 
of  two  interlocking  mountains,  but  the  vessels  that  lay  fast-moored  in  the  ice 
were  plainly  sea -going  craft.  Somesville  lay  beneath  us,  its  little  steeple 
pricking  the  frosty  air.  Cold,  gray,  and  cheerless  as  their  outward  dress  ap- 
peared, the  mountains  had  more  of  impressiveiiess,  now  that  thcv  were  cov- 
ered from  base  to  summit  with  snow.  They  seemed  really  mountains  and  not 
hilN,  receiving  an  Alpine  tone  with  their  wintry  vesture. 

Alter  all,  a  winter  landscape  in  Nev/  Engi.ind  is-,  less  gloomy  than  in  the 
game  zone  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  where,  in  the  total  absence  of  evero'reen- 
1^-ees,  nothing  but  long  reaches  of  naked  forest  rewards  the  eye,  which  roves 
in  vain  for  some  vantage-ground  of  relief.  Jutting  points,  well  wooded  with 
dnrk  firs,  or  clumps  of  those  trees  standing  by  the  roadside,  were  a<'rceable 
features  in  this  connection. 

A  brisk  trot  over  the  frozen  road  brought  us  to  the  end  of  the  half  dozen 
miles  that  stretch  between  Somesville  and  the  Narrows.  The  snow  craunch- 
»d  beneath  the  horses' feet  as  we  glided  through  the  village  street;  in  a  mo-  - 
lUMit  more  the  driver  drew  up  with  a  flourish  beside  the  door  of  an  inn  Avliieh 
[(ears  for  its  ensign  a  name  advantageously  known  in  these  latitudes.  A 
jousing  fire  of  birchen  logs  blazed  on  the  open  hearth.  Above  the  mantel 
^ere  cheap  prints  of  the  ]ircsidents,  from  Washington  to  Buchanan.  I  was 
iiade  welcome,  and  thought  of  Shenstone  when  he  says, 

"  Whoe'er  lia.s  travel'd  life's  dull  round, 
Wliate'er  his  fortunes  may  have  i)een, 
Must  sigli  to  think  iiow  oft  he's  found 
Life's  warmest  welcome  at  an  inn." 


32 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


HEAD  OF  SOMES'S  SOUND. 

An  island  fourteen  miles  long  and  a  dozen  broad,  embracing  a  liundreil 
square  miles,  and  traversed  from  end  to  end  by  mountains,  is  to  be  approach- 
ed witb  respect.  It  excludes  the  idea  of  superficial  observation.  As  the 
mountains  bar  the  way  to  the  southern  shores,  you  must  often  make  a  loiii;' 
detour  \,o  reach  a  given  point,  or  else  commit  yourself  to  the  guidance  of  a  deer- 
path,  or  the  dry  bed  of  some  mountain  torrent.  In  summer  or  in  autumn, 
with  a  little  knowledge  of  woodcraft,  a  well-adjusted  pocket-compass,  and  a 
stout  stall',  it  is  practicable  to  enter  the  hills,  and  make  your  way  as  the  red 
huntsmen  vvere  of  old  accustomed  to  do;  but  in  winter  a  guide  would  be  in- 
dispensable, and  you  should  have  well-trained  muscles  to  undertake  it. 

The  mountains  have  been  traversed  again  and  again  by  tire,  destroying 
not  the  wood  alone,  but  also  the  thin  turf,  the  accumulations  of  years.  The 
woods  are  full  of  the  evidences  of  these  fires  in  the  charred  remains  of  large 
trees  that,  after  the  passage  of  the  flames,  have  been  felled  by  tempests.  At 
a  distance  of  five  miles  the  present  growth  resembles  stubble;  on  a  nearer 
a))proach  it  takes  the  appearance  of  underbrush  ;  and  upon  reaching  the  hills 
you  find  a  young  forest  repairing  the  ravages  made  by  fire,  wind,  and  the! 
woodman's  axe.  "Fifty  years  ago,"  said  ^Mr.  Somes,  "those  mountains  were 
covered  with  a  dark  growth."  Cedars,  firs,  hemlocks,  and  other  evergreens, 
with  a  thick  sprinkling  of  white-birch,  and  now  and  then  a  clump  of  beeches,  I 
make  the  i)riiicipal  base  ibr  the  forest  of  the  future  on  Mount  Desert — pro- 


MOUNT  DESERT  ISLAND. 


83 


f  a  humlroil 

)e  upproiieh- 

)n.     As  the 

liiko  a  \o\vj. 

CO  of  a  dc'Oi- 

ill  autumn, 

ipass,  and  a 

as  the  rod 

ouUl  be  in- 

ce  it. 

destroying 
years.  The 
liiis  of  large 
iijtests.  At 
on  a  nearer 
iiiL!,-  the  lulls 
ii<l,  and  the 
iilains  were 
evergreens, 
)  of  beeches, 
)esert — pro- 


vided always  it  is  permitted  to  arrive  at  maturity.  Ilitlierto  tlic  poverty  or 
•^reed  of  the  inhabitants  has  sacritioed  every  tree  that  was  worth  the  labor  of 
lelling.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Saulsbiiry's  Cove  tiiero  arc  still  to  be  seen, 
in  inaccessible  places,  trees  destined  never  to  feel  the  axe's  keen  edge. 
-  Aliiie  host  of  the  village  tavern,  Daniel  Somes,  or  "  Old  Uncle  Daniel,"  as 
hv  is  known  far  and  near,  is  the  grandson  of  the  first  settler  of  the  name  who 
en.igrated  from  (Jloucester,  jNIassachnsetts,  and  "squatted"  here  —  "a  vilo 
phrasf}" — about  1  "CO.  Abraham  Somes  built  on  the  little  point  of  land  in 
front  of  the  tavern-door,  from  which  a  clump  of  shrubs  may  be  seen  growing 
near  the  sjtot.  Other  settlers  came  from  Ciipe  Cod,  and  were  located  at  Hull's 
and  other  coves  about  the  island.  I  asked  my  landlord  if  there  were  any 
family  traditions  relative  to  the  short-lived  settlement  of  the  French,  or  traces 
of  an  occupation  tliat  might  well  iiave  set  his  ancestors  talking.  He  sliook 
hit)  gray  head  in  emphatic  negative.  Had  I  asked  him  for  "Tam  O'Shanter" 
or  the  "Brigs  of  Ayr,"  he  would  have  given  it  to  nie  stanza  for  stanza. 

There  are  ihw  excursions  to  be  made  within  a  certain  radius  of  Somesville 
that  oiler  so  much  of  variety  and  interest  as  that  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Stinid,  pursuing,  with  such  M-anderings  as  fancy  may  suggest,  the  well-beat- 
en load  to  South-west  Harbor.  It  is  seven  miles  of  hill  and  dale,  lake  and 
Btrcain,  with  a  succession  of  charming  views  constantly  unfolding  themselves 
before  you.  And  here  I  may  remark  that  the  roads  on  tiie  island  are  gener- 
ftlly  good,  and  easily  followed. 

The  m:ip  may  have  so  far  introduced  the  island  to  the  reader  that  he  M'ill 


;u 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  (H)AST. 


1^; 

I, 


bo  able  to  trace;  llie  route  aloiii;  llio  side  of  Uobiiisou's  ^Mountain,  which  is  be- 
twx'CMi  tho  road  and  the  Sound,  with  two  suiuuiits  of  nearly  equal  height^  ris- 
ing six  hundred  and  forty  and  six  hundred  and  eighty  ieet  above  it.  At  tlic 
light,  in  descending  this  road,  is  Keho  Lake,  a  superb  idece  of  water,  haviiii; 
Heech  JNIountain  at  its  foot.  You  stumble  on  it,  as  it  wore,  unawares,  and 
enjoy  the  surprise  all  the  more  for  it.  Broad-shouldered  and  deep-eliestcil 
mountains  wall  in  the  reservoirs  tliat  have  been  lilled  by  the  snows  melt  in.; 
from  their  sides.  There  are  speckled  trout  to  be  taken  in  Echo  Lake,  ns 
well  as  in  the  pond  lying  in  Somesville.  Of  course  the  echo  is  to  be  triid, 
even  if  the  mount  gives  back  a  sauey  answer. 

Next  below  us  is  Dog  Mountain.  It  has  been  sliut  out  from  view  until  voii 
liave  uncovered  it  in  passing  by  the  lake.  Dog  Moinitain's  eastern  and  liinli- 
est  crest  is  six  hundri'd  and  eighty  feet  in  the  air.  How  much  of  resemblaiuc 
it  bears  to  a  crouching  mastitf  de[)euds  in  a  great  measure  upon  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  beholder: 

Ham.   "Do  yoii  sec  yonder  cloud  tlip.t's  nlinnst  in  slinpe  of  a  camel? 

Pol.   "By  tlio  mass,  niul  'tis  lii<e  a  camel  indeed. 

Ham.   "  Metliinks  it  is  like  a  weasel. 

Pol.   "It  is  backed  like  a  weasel. 

Ham.   "Or  like  a.  whale? 

Put.   "Very  like  a  wiiale." 

Between  Dog  and  Brown's  Mountain  on  its  eastern  shore  the  Sound  lias 
forced  its  way  for  six  or  seven  ndles  up  into  the  centre  of  the  island.  Al 
the  southern  foot  of  Dog  JNIountain  is  Fernald's  Cove  and  Point,  the  sn]!- 
posed  scene  of  the  attempted  settlement  by  the  colony  of  Madame  the  3I:u- 
chioncss  De  Guercheville.  Mr.  De  Costa  lias  christened  Brown's  Mount- 
ain with  the  name  of  ^Mansell,  from  Sir  Robert  Mausell,  vice-admiral  in  tlioi 
times  of  James  L  and  Cliarles  L  The  whole  island  was  once  called  after  the 
knight,  but  there  is  a  touch  of  retributive  justice  in  recollecting  that  tlicj 
English,  in  expelling  the  French,  have  in  turn  been  ex2)elled  from  its  nomen- 
clature. 

Turning  now  to  what  Prescott  calls  "historicals"  for  enlightenment  on  tlicl 
subject  of  the  colonization  of  Mount  Desert,  it  appears  that  upon  the  retiiriif 
of  De  Monts  to  France  lie  gave  his  town  of  Port  Uoval  to  Jean  de  Poutiiii- 
court,  whose  voyage  in  1600  along  the  coast  of  New  England  will  be  noticed 
in  future  clia])ters.    The  projects  of  De  Monts  liaving  been  overthrown  by  in- 
trigue, and  through  jealousy  of  the  exclusive  rights  conferred  by  his  patent,! 
Ma(bame  De  Guercheville,  a  "very  charitable  and  pious  lady"  of  the  court,' 
entered  into  negotiation  with  Poutrincourt  for  the  founding  of  Jesuit  missioiisj 
among  the  savages.     Finding  that  Poutrincourt  claimed  more  than  he  coulilj 
conveniently  establish  a  right  to,  Madame  treated  directly  with  Du  Guast,  wlioj 


r 


'  She  was  one  of  the  queen's  ladies  of  honor,  and  wife  of  tlie  Dake  of  Rocliefoncauld  Liancourt. 


MOUNT  DICSICUT  ISI-AND. 


35 


which  is  l)c- 
i  lit'ighl^  vis- 
it. At  the 
iilor,  haviii;,' 
awares,  iiinl 
loi'p-chc'sti'd 
;;)\vs  melt  ill.,' 
ho  Lake,  !is 
to  ho  trii'd, 

f\v  until  VDii 
i-ii  ami  hiiiili- 
rosoiublaiui' 
the  iinaniiia- 


d? 


le  Sound  lia^ 
island.     At 

Mt,   tllO    sup- 

no  the  .Alar 
wn's  Mount- 
niiral  in  tlK'||! 
led  afier  tlier 
ng  that  lilt' 
II  its  noiiit-'ii- 

nnient  on  tli 
iU  the  ret  III  i 

de  Pout  rill- 
11  be  noticc'il 

irown  by  ill": 
y  his  patL'ut,' 
it"  the  court.' 

iiit  mission* 

hau  he  c()ul(l| 

u  Guast,  wliii| 

iiilJ  Liancoiui. 


ceded  to  her  all  tlio  privileges  defived  by  him  from  Henry  TV.  The  king,  in 
ItiUT,  c(tiilirnK'd  all  except  the  grant  of  Port  lloyal,  which  was  reserved  to 
PdUtrincoiirt.     The  memorable  year  of  1010  ended  the  eareer  of  Henry,  in 

,.  tlif  Kiie  (le  la  Kerronerie.      In    1011  the  fathers,  Pere   IJiarl    and  Kiieinond 
.Alasse,  of  the  College  d'Hu,  came   over  to   Port  Royal   with   Hiencourt,  the 

^^i younger  Poutrincourt.  During  the  next  year  an  expedition  under  the  au- 
spices of  Madame  De  Guercheville  was  prepared  to  follow,  and,  after  taking 
on  board  the  two  Jesuits  ab-eady  at  Port  Poyal,  was  to  proceed  to  make  a 
deliuitive  settlement  somewhere  in  tlie  I'enobseot. 

'Die  colonists  iiumberi'd  in  all  al)out  thirty  persons,  including  two  other 
Jesuit  fathers,  named  rac(|ues  (iuentin  and  (Jilbert  Du  Tliet.'  The  expeilition 
was  under  the  eommaiid  of  La  Saussaye.  Li  numbers  it  was  about  etpial  to 
the  colony  of  Gosnold. 

La  Saiissaye  arrived  at  Port  I'oyal,  and  after  taking  on  board  the  fathers, 
,IJi;ird  and  Masse,  continued  his  route.  Arriving  off  Menati,  the  vessel  was 
enveloped  by  an  impenetrable  fog,  wliieh  beset  them  lor  two  days  and  nights. 
Tiieir  situation  was  one  of  imminent  danger,  from  which,  if  the  relation  of  the 
Peie  JJiard  is  to  be  l)elieved,  tlu'y  were  delivered  by  prayer.  On  the  morn- 
•iiiLi  of  the  third  day  the  fog  lifted,  disclosing  the  island  of  Mount  Desert  to 
tiiiir  joyful  eyes.  The  i)ilot  landed  them  in  a  harbor  on  the  east  side  of  the 
island,  where  they  gave  thanks  to  (Jod  and  celebrated  the  mass.  They  named 
tlu'  place  and  harbor  St.  Sauveiir. 

Singularly  enough,  it  now  fell  out,  as  seven  years  later  it  happened  to  the 
Xt  vden  Pilgrims,  that  the  pilot  lefused  to  carry  them  to  their  actual  destina- 
ti'iii  at  Katlescpiit,"  in  Pentagoet  River.  lie  alleged  that  the  voyage  was 
C'lnpleted.  After  nuich  wrangling  the  alfair  was  a(ljuste<l  by  the  appear- 
aiKi'  of  friendly  Indians,  who  conducted  the  fathers  to  their  own  ]>lace  of 
lialiitation.  Upon  viewing  the  spot,  the  colonists  determined  they  could  not 
d"  better  than  to  settle  upon  it.     They  accordingly  set  about  making  a  lodg- 

The  place  where  the  colony  was  established  is  obscured  as  much  by  tlio 
relation  of  Hiard  as  by  time  itself.  The  language  of  the  narration  is  ealcu- 
laird  to  mislead,  as  the  place  is  spoken  of  as  "  being  shut  in  by  the  large  island 
^'l\Mount  Desert."  Tlie  Jesuit  had  undoubtedly  fidl  opportunity  of  becom- 
ing familiar  with  the  locality,  and  his  account  was  written  after  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  plantation  by  Argall.  There  is  little  doubt  they  were  inhabiting 
line  part  of  the  isle,  as  Champlain  in  general  terms  asserts.  Meanwhile  the 
grassy  slope  of  Fernald's  Point  gains  nniny  pilgrims.  The  brave  ecclesiastic, 
Du  Tliet,  could  not  have  a  nobler  monument  than  the  stately  dirts  graven  by 


*  Cliiiin])liiin  :   Mr.  Slien  snys  he  was  only  a  lay  brotlier. 

*  Tliis  lias  a  leseniMance  to  Koiidtiskeng,  and  was  jjioliatily  the  ]iresent  Bangor. 

*  Charlevoix  says  the  landing  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  island. 


36 


TIIK   NKW  KN(lLANl)   COAST. 


litrhtninc;  and  tlio  storm  with  tlu'  liiuidwritiin^  ot'tlii'  Ojimipotoiit.  The  |>iiiiy 
i\'V('il)('r;iti(His  of  AriiuH's  brdtwlsidcs  were  as  iintliiiii!^  cominnvd  wilh  the  ;\v- 
tilU'iy  tliiit  has  |ihiyt.'<l  upon  llu'so  liiiLjIits  ciut  ot'cloml  ballk'tiii'iils. 

Duriii'jj  llic  sumiiKT  t)t'  lOlU,  Samuel  Ai'<j;all,  li'arniii;^  of  the  ])roseiic»!  of 
the  French,  eamo  ii|;;*ii  tliem  uiiawari's,  ami  in  triu*  buci'ant'er  stylo.  A  very 
brief  and  uiK'<nial  coiiHict  eiisiu'd.  Dii  Tliut  8too<l  manfully  by  Ids  sjfun,  .iikI 
fell,  mortally  wounded.  Captain  Klory  and  three  others  also  received  wounds, 
Two  were  drowned.     The  Frencli  then  surrendered. 

Argall's  sliii)  was  called  the  'JWdKiirrr.  Henri  de  ^lontmorency,  Adminil 
of  France,  denninded  justice  of  Kiny  .lames  for  the  outrajfc,  but  I  doidjt  tluit 
he  ever  received  it.  IIu  allet'ed  that,  besides  killinu;"  several  of  the  colonists 
and  transporting  others  as  prisoners  to  Virginia,  Ari:all  liad  put  tlie  remain- 
der in  a  little  skiff  and  abjindoue<l  them  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves.  Tims 
ended  the  fourth  attempt  to  colonize  New  Eniniaiul. 

Argall,  it  is  asserted,  had  tlic  baseness  to  puiloiii  tlie  commission  of  La 
Saussaye,  as  it  favored  ids  project  of  plunderin;^  the  French  more  at  his  ease, 
the  two  crowns  of  Kn^iaiul  and  Franco  beinjj;  then  at  peace,  lie  was  at- 
forward  kni<ihtod  by  Kini;  James,  and  became  a  member  of  tlie  Council  of 
]*lymouth,  and  De|)uty-govern()r  of  Virginia.  J)nring  a  second  expedition  to 
Acadiii,  he  destroyed  all  tracers  of  the  colony  of  Madame  De  (Juercheville.  It 
is  jtretly  evident  ho  was  a  bold,  bad  man,  as  the  nn)re  his  character  is  scanned 
the  less  there  appears  in  it  to  admire. 

IJrothor  Du  Thet,  stainling  with  smoking  match  beside  his  gun,  was  M'or- 
thy  the  same  pencil  that  has  illustrated  the  defense  of  .Saragossa.  1  marvel 
much  the  event  has  not  been  celebrated  in  verse. 

An  enjoyable  waj'  of  becoming  acquainted  with  Somes's  Sound  is  to  take  a 
wherry  at  Somesvillo  and  drift  slowly  down  with  the  ebb,  returning  with  the 
next  flood.  In  some  respects  it  is  better  than  to  be  under  sail,  as  n  landiiis,' 
is  always  easily  made,  and  defiance  may  be  bidck'n  to  head  winds. 

One  of  the  precipices  of  Dog  Mountain,  known  as  Eagle  Cliff,  has  always 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  artists,  as  well  as  of  all  lovers  of  the  beautiful 
and  sublime.  There  has  been  much  seai'ch  for  treasure  in  the  glens  here- 
abouts, directed  by  spiritualistic  conclaves.  One  too  credulous  i>lander,  in 
his  fruitless  delving  after  the  ])inite  Kidd's  buried  hoard,  lias  squandered  the 
gold  of  his  own  life,  and  is  worn  to  a  shadow. 

When  some  one  asked  Moll  Pitcher,  the  celebrated  fortune-teller  of  Lynn, 
to  disclose  the  place  wdiere  this  same  Kidd  had  secreted  his  wealth,  promis- 
ing to  give  her  half  of  what  was  recovered,  the  old  witch  exclaimed,  "Fool I 
if  I  knew,  could  I  not  have  all  myself?"  Kidd's  wealth  must  have  been  be- 
yond com})utation.  There  is  scarcely  a  headland  or  an  island  from  Montauk 
to  Grand  jNIonan  which  according  to  local  tradition  does  not  contain  some 
portion  of  his  spoil. 

Much  interest  is  attached  to  the  shell  heaps  found  on  FernakVs  Point  aiul 


MOUNT   DKSKUT   ISLAM). 


37 


Tlie  imiiy 
illi  the  ill- 
1. 

rcst'iic  of 
i>.  A  vcvy 
is  iinu,  Mild 
L'd  sv omuls, 

•y,  Admival 
(louht  tliat 
10  colonists 
Llio  riMniiin- 
ivi's.     Tims 

ssion  of  liii 

ill   llis  C'ilM', 

Ho  was  III- 
Council  of 
cpoditioM  111 
•liovillo.  li 
r  is  scanned 


111,  was  wor- 
I  niarvc'l 


is  to  talvo  a 
\u<f  with  tlic 
IS  a  landing 

has  always 

lie  bcantit'iil 

;j;lens  lure- 

i>lander,  in 

luidercd  the 

Icr  of  Lynn, 
lull,  ))r<)iiiis- 
|K>d,"Fooll 
|ve  been  be- 
dm  IVIontauk 
lutain  some 


at  Simd  Point  opposite.  Thoro 
arc  also  such  banks  at  I  lull's 
Cove  ami  tdsewhcro.  Indian 
implements  arc  occasionally 
met  with  in  these  deposits.  It  is  | 
reasonably  ccrlaiii  that  some  of 
them  arc  of  rciiK^tc  anti(iuity. 
AVilliamsonstale!^  that  a  heavy 
jjfrowth  of  trees  was  found  by 
the  first  settlers  upon  some  of 
the  shell  banks  in  this  vicin- 
ity.' Associated  with  these 
relics  of  aboriiiinal  occupation 
is  the  jtrinl  in  the  roek  near 
(lomwcirs  Cove,  called  the 
"  Indian's  Foot."  It  is  in  ap- 
jitaraiice  the  impression  of  a 
tolerably  shaped  loot,  fourteen 
inches  loiisj;  and  two  deep.  The 
c'linnion  people  are  not  yet 
Ik  I'd  from  the  superstitions 
ol'  two  centuries  ago,  which 
ascriited  all  such  accidental 
iiiiarks  to  the  Evil  One. 

In    my    progress    by    the 

[road   to  South-west  Harbor, 

[l  was   intercepted    near  Dog 

IMoimtain  by  a  sea-turn   that  soon  became  a  steady  drizzle.     This  aftbrd- 

jcd  inc  an  opportunity  of  seeing  some  line  dissolving  views:   the  sea-mists 

[ailvancing,  and  enveloping  the  mountain-tops,  cheated  the  imagination  with 

the  idea  that  the  mountains  were  themselves  receding.     A  storm-cloud,  black 

and  threatening,  drifted  over  Sargent's  Mountain,  settling  bodily  down  upon 

lit,  deploying  and  extending  itself  until  the  entire  bulk  disajtpeared  behind  an 

iinpeuctr.ible  curtain.     It  was  like  the  stealthy  approach  and  quick  cast  of  a 

niantlc  over  the  head  of  an  unsuspecting  victim. 

Very  few  were  aliroad  in  the  storm,  but  I  saw  a  uut-crackor  and  chickadee 
I  making  the  best  of  it.     I  remarked  that  under  branching  spruces  or  fir-trees 
the  grass  was  still  green,  and  the  leaves  of  the  checker-berry  bright  and  glossy 
las  in  September.     On  this  road  admirable  points  of  observation  constantly 
'occur  from  which  to  view  the  shifting  contours  of  Beech  and  Western  mount- 
ains, with  the  broad  and  level  plateau  extending  along  their  northern  base- 


CLIFFS,  DOG  MOl'NTAIN,  SOMES'S  SOUND. 


Point  and 


'  "History  of  Maine,"  vol.  i.,  p.  80. 


38 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


line  far  to  tlio  westward.  Iletrariiig  witli  tlie  eye  this  lino  yon  see  a  litllc 
liaiiilet  SM  I  .jly  ensconced  on  the  hitiier  sUjpe  of  Hcecii  ]Mok'  tain,  wliile  liii' 
phiteau  i    '••/.inileil  oft' into  the  bhifts  rising  above  Ecliu  Lake. 

South-west  Harbor  is  usually  the  stranger's  first  introduction  to  Moiuit 
Desert.  The  ajuiroach  to  it  is  consequently  invested  with  peculiar  interest 
to  all  who  know  how  to  value  lirst  iini^ressions.  Its  neighborhood  is  less 
wild  and  |»ictures(iue  than  ti>e  eastern  shores  of  the  island,  bi't  Long  Lake 
and  the  western  range  of  mountains  are  conveniently  accessible  from  it; 
while,  by  crossing  or  ascending  the  Sound,  avenues  are  opened  in  every  (fi- 
rection  to  the  surpassing  charms  of  this  favored  corner  of  New  England. 

At  South-west  Harbor  tiie  visitor  is  usually  desirous  of  inspecting  the 
Hesi-\va\\,ov  c/ieval-de-fiise  of  shattered  I'ock,  iliat  skirts  the  shore  less  than 
three  miles  distant  from  tiie  steamboat  landinir.     Aiul  he  may  here  witness 


rllli    ^l■OM;    WALL. 


an  impressive  example  of  what  the  ocean  can  do.  An  irregidar  ridge  of  a 
mile  ill  length  is  piled  ".itii  sluipeless  rocks,  against  whicli  the  sea  beats  with 
tireless  impetuosity. 

Fog  is  the  \)ane  of  !Mount  Desert.  Its  frequency  during  the  months  of 
July  and  August  is  an  impoi'tant  factor  in  the  sum  of  outdoor  enjoynieiit, 
Happily,  it  is  seldom  of  long  continuance,  as  gi-nial  sunshine  or  light  breezis 
soon  disperse  it. 

There  is,  however,  a  weird  sort  of  fascination  in  standing  on  tlie  sliore  in  a 
fog.  Vou  are  compU'tely  deceived  as  to  the  nearness  either  of  objects  or  ef 
sounds,  though  tlie  I'oU  of  the  surf  is  m<ire  depended  upon  by  experienced 
ears  than  the  fog-bell.  In  sailing  near  the  laini  every  one  has  noticed  tlio 
recoil  of  sounds  from  the  shore,  as  voices,  or  the  beat  of  a  steanu'r's  j)addh's. 
Coming  through  the  Mussel  Kidge  Channel  one  unusually  thick  morning,  the 
fog  suddeidy  "scaled  up,"  discovering  White  Ileail  in  uncomfortable  proxim- 
ity.    The  light-house  keeper  stood  in  his  door,  tolling  the  heavy  ibg-bell  that, 


-■  -i 

witl 

is  a 
turn 
ries 

islai 

MOUNT  DESERT  ISLAND. 


see  a  liiili! 
I,  while  ihe 

1    to   Mount      .; 

iar  interest 
looil  is  less 
Loiiij  Lnko 
lie  from  it ; 
ill  every  di- 
iglaiul. 
peeling  tin' 
re  less  tliaii 
lere  witness 


r  ri(l2;e  of  ;i 
|a  beats  wiih 

months  nt' 

ciijoynier.t. 

liglit  bree/i'S 

lie  shore  in  iv 
Ibjecls  or  nt 
lex]ieriencc'il 
Inotietd  tlie 
I'rs  j)a(l(llt'i». 

liorninir,  t'"^ 

Ide  jtroxini- 

roiI-bell  tli.it 


ENTUANCE   TO  SOMES'S  SOUND. 


we  had  believed  half  a  mile  away. 

Our  pilot  (i'ave  him  thanks  with  three 

blasts  of  the  steam-whistle. 

Ort*  the  entrance  to  the  Sound  arc 

several  islands — Great  Cranberry,  of 

five  hundred  acres;  Little  Cranberry,  of  two  hundred  acres;  and,  farther  in- 

lore,  Lancaster's  Island,  of  one  hundred  acres.     The  eastern  channel  into  the 

oiind  is  between  the  two  last  niimed.     Dnck  Island,  of  about  fifty  acres,  is 

ast  of  Great  Cranberry;  and  Baker's,  on  which  is  the  light-house,  is  the  out 

rmost  of  the  cluster. 

The  cranberry  is  indigenous  to  the  whole  extent  of  the  Elaine  sea-board. 

t  grows  to  perfection  on  the  borders  of  wet  meadows,  but  I  have  known  it 

0  thrive  on  the  upland.     The  culture  has  been  found  very  remunerative  in 

ocalities  less  favored  by  nature,  as  at  Cape  Cod  and  on   the  New  Jersey 

oast.     Some  attempts  at  cranberry  culture  have  recently  been  made  witii 

00(1  success  at  Leinoiiie,  on  the  main-land,  o|>posito  Mount  Desert.      IJiuc- 

erries  are  abundant  on  Moutit  Desert.      I  saw  one   young   girl  who    hail 

icked  enough  in  a  week  to  bring  her  seven  dollars.      Formerly  they  were 

„('iit  off  the  island,  but  they  are  now  in   <j;ood  demand   at  the  hotels  and 

>T)()ardiiig- houses.     In  poorer  families  the  head  of  it  picks  up  a  little  money 

'by  shore-fishing.     He  plants  a  little  patch  with  potatoes,  dressing  Uie  land 

> iwiili  sea-weed,  which  costs  him  only  the  labor  of  gathering  it.     His  fire-wood 

v|is  as  cheaply  procured  from  the  neighboring  fiirest  or  shore,  and  in  the  aii- 

■|iiimu  iiis  wife  and  cliildren  gather  berries,  which  are  e.vchaniied  for  necessa- 

||iies  at  the  stores. 

■s^l       At  the  extreme  southerlv  end  of  Mount  Deseit  is  l>ass  Harbor,  with  three 

M .  .  .  ' 

^islands  outlying.     It  is  landlocked,  and  a  well-known  haven  of  refuixe. 


•"•■■'— '  Kii 


if?: 


FUOFESSOK  AQASSIZ. 


CHAPTER  in. 

crinisTifAs  ox  mount  desert. 

"Yoii  sliould  Imve  seen  tlmt  long  liill-range, 
With  gaps  of  brightness  riven — 
How  tlnoiigh  each  jmss  iind  hollow  streamed 
The  purpling  light  of  heaven — "' 

WiriTTIER. 

HAVING  broken  tli(>  ice  a  little  with  the  reader,  I  shall  suppose  liim  pres- 
ent on  the  most  glorious  Christmas  moniiiifj  a  New  England  sun  ever 
8lu)ne  upon.  "A  green  Christmas  makes  a  fat  cliurch-yard,"  s:)\'s  an  Old- 
country  proverb;  this  was  a  white  .Yoi'f,  cloudless  and  bright.  I  saw  that 
the  peruke  of  my  neighbor  across  the  Sound,  Sargent's  Mountain,  liad  been 
freshly  powdered  during  the  nioht;  that  the  rigging  of  the  iee-bound  craft 


CHRISTMAS  ON  MOJNT  DESERT. 


41 


se  l)im  pros- 
11(1  sun  ever 
lys  nil  01(1- 
r  saw  tliat 
n,  had  been 
bound  craft 


liarboreil  between  us  was  ineas.d  in  solid  ice,  reflecting  tlie  sunbeams  like 
burnished  stei.l.  Tlie  inscription  on  mine  host's  sign-board  wa.i  blo«t<  d  out 
by  the  di-iving  sieet ;  tl*e  brown  and  leafless  trees  stood  ti'ansflgured  into  ob- 
jcets  of  wondrous  beauty.  I  heard  the  jinglu  of  bells  in  the  stable-yard  and 
the  stamping  of  feet  below  stairs,  and  then 

"  I  Iiennl  ii.ie  ni:iii-,  for  Clinnticlccr 
Sliook  otl'  tlie  poutliery  siiiiw, 
And  liail'd  the  luoniiiig  with  a  clieer, 
A  cuttiige-roiising  craw." 

The  roads  from  Bar  ILi-bor  and  from  North-cast  Harbor  unite  within  a 
short  distance  of  Somesville,  and  enter  the  village  together.  Within  these 
Jiighways  is  embraced  a  huge  pioportion  of  those  picturesque  features  for 
rwhich  the  ishind  is  famed.  In  this  area  are  the  highest  mountains,  the  bold- 
fest  headlands,  the  deepest  indentations  of  the  shores.  It  is  not  for  nothing, 
I  therefore,  that  Bar  Harbor  has  become  a  favorite  rendezvous  of  the  throngs 

"That  seek  the  crowd  tliey  .seem  to  fly." 

On  Christmas-day  the  road  to  Bar  llaibor  was  an  avenue  of  a  winter 

palace  more  sumptuous  than  that  by  the  Neva.      Every  si)i'ay  of  the  dark 

[evergreen  trees  was  heavily  laden  with  a  liglit  snow  that  pleutifidly  bes])rin- 

kled  us  in  passing  beneatli  the  often  overreaching  branches.     The  stillness 

w.is  unbroken.     Blasted  trees  —  gaunt,  withered,  and  hung  with   moss  like 

rags  on  the  shruidveu  limbs  of  a  mendicant  —  were  now  incrusted  witli  ice- 

Icrystala,  that  glittered  like  lustres  on  gigantic  candelabra.     On  the  top  of 

Isonie  rounded  hill  there  sometimes  was  standing  the  Ijare  steui  of  a  blasted 

pine,  where  it  shone  like  the  spike  on  a  grenadier's  helmet.     It  was  a  scene 

lof  enchantment. 

I  saw  frequent  tracks  where  the  deer  had  come  down  tlie  mountain  and 
[crossed  the  road,  sometimes  singly,  sometimes  in  pairs,  and  in  search,  no 
[doubt,  of  water.  The  foot-prints  of  foxes,  rabbits,  and  grouse  were  also  com- 
mon. During  the  day  I  met  an  islander  who  told  me  he  had  shot  a  fat  buck 
only  a  day  or  two  before,  and  that  many  deer  were  still  haunting  the  mount- 
ains. Formerly,  but  so  long  ago  that  only  tradition  preserves  the  fact,  there 
were  black  bear  and  moose;  and  traces  of  beaver  are  yet  to  be  s'-en  in  their 
dams  and  houses,  lied  foxes  and  mink,  and  occasionally  the  black  fox,  great- 
ly valued  for  its  fur,  are  taken  by  the  hunters.  In  order  to  make  the  roads 
interesting  to  nocturnal  travelers,  rumor  was  talking  of  a  panther  and  a  wolf 
that  had  been  seen  witiiin  a  short  time. 

In  the  day  when  these  coasts  were  stocked  with  beaver,  its  skin  was  the 
common  currency  of  tlie  countrv,  as  well  of  the  Indians  as  of  tiie  whites.  It 
■was  greatly  prized  in  Europe,  and  constituted  the  wealth  of  the  savages  of 
northern  New  England,  who  were  wholly  unacquainted  with  wami)um  until 


42 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


it  was  introduced  nmong  them  by  tlie  riymouth  trading-posts  on  the  PenolK 
scot  and  Kennebec. 

The  wigwam  of  a  rich  cliief  would  be  lined  with  beaver-skins,  and,  if  lio 
were  very  rich,  his  guests  were  seated  on  packs  of  it.  Then,  as  now,  a  suitur 
was  not  the  less  acceptable  if  he  came  to  his  mistress  with  plenty  ot  beaver. 
It  was  the  Indians'  practice  to  kill  only  two-thirds  of  the  beaver  each  season, 
leaving  a  th.ird  ibr  increase.  Tiie  English  hunters  killed  all  they  found,  rap- 
idly exterminating  an  animal  which  the  Indian  believed  to  be  possessed  of 
preternatural  sagacity. 

Our  road,  after  crossing  a  northern  spur  of  Sargent's  Momitain,  which  lifts 
itself  more  than  a  tln)usand  feet  above  the  sea,  led  on  over  a  succession  of 
hills.  Beyond  Sargent's,  (Ji-een  Moimtain  stood  unveiled,  with  what  seemed 
the  tiniest  of  cottages  ])erched  on  its  summit.  Ere  long  Eagle  Lake  lay  out- 
stretched at  the  right,  but  it  was  in  tiie  trance  of  winter.  The  jyainter. 
Church,  whose  favorite  gi'ound  lay  about  due  south,  christened  the  lake, 
doubtless  with  a  palmfnl  of  water  fi'om  its  own  baptismal  font.  The  road- 
way is  thrown  across  its  outlet  where  the  timbers  of  an  old  mill,  that  sonic 
time  ago  had  gorged  itself  with  the  native  forest,  lay  rotting  and  overlhr.)wn. 

Green  Mountain  overpeei's  all  the  others.  On  its  sumriiit  you  are  fifteen 
hnndre  t  and  tiiirty-five  leet  higher  than  the  sea.  On  this  account  it  was  se- 
lected as  a  landmark  for  the  survey  of  the  neighboring  coasts.  It  is  not  <lil- 
ficult  of  ascent,  as  the  mountain  road  built  by  the  surveyors  is  considered 
j)racticable  for  carriages  nearly  or  quite  to  the  top.  I  had  anticipated  as- 
cending it,  but  the  new-fallen  snow  '•endered  walking  difKcult,  and  I  was 
forced  to  content  myself  with  viewing  ;*  from  all  sides  of  appi'oach. 

An  acquaintance  with  the  sierras  of  either  ':alf  of  the  continent  exercises  a 
restraining  influence  in  presence  of  an  uplieav:!!  comparatively  slight,  yet  it  is 
only  in  a  i'vw  favored  instances  that  one  may  stand  on  the  summits  of  very 
liigh  mountains  and  look  down  n])on  the  sea.  New  England,  indeed,  boasts 
gi'eater  elevations  at  some  distance  from  her  sea-coast,  among  which  the 
jMount  Desert  peaks  would  apj)ear  dwarfed  into  respectable  hills.  On  a  clear 
day,  and  under  conditions  pecnliarh'  favorable,  a  distant  glimpse  of  Katali- 
'!in  and  of  Mount  Waslnngton  may  be  had  from  tiie  ci'cst  of  Green  Mount- 
ain. Ill  summer  the  little  house  is  open  for  the  refreshment  of  weary  but  ad- 
venturous pilgrims. 

Here  I  would  observe  that  tlie  island  nomenclature  is  jiainfuUy  at  variance 
witli  whatever  is  suggestive  of  I'elicitous  rapport  with  its  natural  character- 
istics. The  name  of  Mount  Desert,  it  is  true,  is  singularly  appropriate;  but 
then  it  was  given  by  a  Frenchman  with  an  eye  for  truth  in  picturesqueness. 
In  the  year  179G,  when  the  north  half  of  the  island  was  formed  into  a  town- 
ship, it  was  called,  with  sublimated  irony,  Eden.  Green  Mountain  is  not  more 
green  than  its  neighbors.  At  the  Ovens  I  saw  plenty  of  yeast,  but  not  enough 
to  leaven  the  name.     Schooner  Head  is  not  more  apposite. 


le  PenoiK 


CHRISTMAS  ON  MOUNT  DESKllT. 


43 


f 


ami,  it"  lit! 
V,  a  suitiir 
at'  beavei'. 
L'h  season, 

DUIkI,  Villi- 

jscssod  of 

,vliu'1i  lifts 
session  (if 
at  secint'd 
:e  lay  ont- 
e  paiiilcr, 

the  lako, 
The  voad- 
that  some 
■(.'rthi'.)\vii. 
are  tii'toeii 

it  was  sc- 
is  not  dit- 
ronsidcrod 

ipatod  as- 
\ikI  I  was 

xercisos  a 

It,  yet  it  is 

ts  of  very 

ed,  boasts 

which  tlio 

)ii  a  clear 

of  Kataii- 

11  ^louiit- 

•y  but  ad- 

t  variance 
(diaractei- 
riate ;  but 
esqiieness. 
o  a  town- 
not  more 
ot  eiioU!j;h 


VIEW   OF  EAGLE   LAKli   AND   THE   HEX  FUOM   GREEN   MOrNTAIN. 

*  Just  before  coming  into  Bar  Harbor  there  is  an  excellent  opportunity  of 
lobscrviiif;  the  cluster  of  islands  to  which  it  owes  existence.  These  are  the 
[]\)rcnpine  group,  ami  beyond,  across  a  broad  bay,  the  Gouldsborough  hills 
ipjieared  in  a  Christinas  garb  of  silvery  whiteness.  The  Porcupine  Islands, 
f(ii:r  in  number,  lie  within  easy  reach  of  the  shore,  Bar  Island,  the  nearest,  be- 
ing cuiinected  with  the  maiii-'aml  at  low  ebb.  On  liald  Porciipine  General 
rremont  has  pitched  his  head-quarters.  It  was  the  sea  that  was  fretful  when 
looked  at  the  islands,  though  they  bristled  with  erected  pines  and  cedars. 
The  village  at  Bar  Harbor  is  the  sudden  outgrowth  of  the  necessities  of  a 
l]>opulation  that  comes  with  the  roses,  and  vanishes  with  the  first  frosts  of  au- 
jtiiinn.  It  has  neither  form  nor  comeliness,  though  it  is  admirably  situated 
jfor  excursions  to  points  on  the  eastern  and  southern  shores  of  the  island  as 
[far  as  (iieat  Head  and  Otter  Creek.  A  new  liotid  was  building,  notwithstand- 
[iiig  the  last  season  had  not  provi'd  as  remunerative  as  usual.  I  saw  that  pure 
[water  was  brought  to  the  harbor  by  a  wooden  acpieduct  that  crossed  the  val- 
jley  on  trestles,  after  the  manner  practice<l  in  the  California  mining  regions, 
[and  ihere  called  a  flume.  There  is  a  beach,  with  good  bathing  on  both  sides 
[of  the  landing,  though  the  low  temperature  of  the  water  in  summer  is  hardly 
Icalciilated  for  invalids. 

From  Bar  Harbor,  a  road  conducts  by  the  sliore,  southerly,  as  far  as  Great 
iHead,  some  live  miles  distant.     After  following  this  route  for  a  long  mile, 


t 


44 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


CLIFFS   ON   UALD   POKCUPINE. 


as  it  seemed,  it  divides,  the  rond  to  the  rii^lit  leadina"  on  five  miles  to  Otter 
Creek,  and  thence  to  Xorth-east  Harbor,  seven  miles  beyond.  Excursions  to 
Great  Head,  and  to  Newport  Mountain  and  Otter  Creek,  should  occupy  sepii- 
rate  days,  as  the  shores  are  extremely  interesting,  and  the  scenery  unsurpass- 
ed in  the  whole  range  of  the  island. 

In  pursuing  liis  explorations  at  or  near  low-water  mark,  it  will  be  best  for 


CHRISTMAS  ON  MOUNT  DESERT. 


45 


Ik 


the  tourist  to  begin  a  ramble  an  liour  before  the  tide  has  fully  ebbed.  Tiie 
tides  on  tliis  coast  ordiiiariiy  rise  and  fall  about  twelve  feet,  and  in  winter,  as 
T  saw,  fiequcntly  ei<;liteen  feet.  Hence  the  advance  and  retreat  of  the  waves 
is  not  only  rapid,  but  leaves  a  broader  margin  uncovered  than  in  jVIassachu- 
selts  Bay,  \^here  there  is  comii^only  not  more  than  eight  feet  of  rise  and  fail. 
In  many  places  along  the  arc  of  the  shore  stretching  between  Bar  Harbor 
and  Clreat  Head,  the  ascent  to  higher  ground  is,  to  say  the  least,  difficult,  and, 
in  some  instances,  ])rogress  is  forbidden  by  a  beetling  clirt'  or  impassable 
chasm.  As  time  is  seldom  carefully  noted  when  one  is  I'airly  engaged  in 
sucli  investigations,  it  is  always  prudent  Hrst  to  know  your  ground,  and  next 
to  keep  a  wary  eye  upon  the  stealthy  api)roach  of  the  sea. 


es  to  Otter 

cursions  to 

'ciipy  sepa- 

unsurpass- 

be  best  for 


■•*^^ 


SOUTIIEULY   END   OF   NEWI'OKT   MOUNTAIN,  NEAR   TIIE   SAND   DEACII. 

There  is  a  pleasant  ramble  by  the  shore  to  Cromwell's  Cove;  but  hero  on- 
'ward  movement  is  arrested  by  a  clitt'th:it  turns  you  homeward  by  a  cross- 
ipath  through  the  fields  to  the  road,  after  having  whetted  the  appetite  for 
[what  is  yet  in  reserve. 

bchooiier  Head  is  reached  by  this  road  in  about  four  miles  from  Bar  Har- 
bor, and  three  from  the  junction  of  the  Otter  Creek  road.     I  walked  it  easily 
iin  an  hour.     The  way  is  walled  in  on  the  landward  side  by  the  abrupt  i)reci- 
pices  of  Newport  Mountain,  in  the  sheer  face  of  which  stimted  firs  are  niched 
here  and  there.     Very  mucli  tiiey  soften  the  hard,  unyielding  lines  and  cold 


46 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


sjtniy  of  the  crags;  tlic  vya  lingers  kindly  on  tlieir  green  cliaplets  cast  abo'it 
the  frowning  brows  of  winlry  mountains.  Tliis  morning  all  were  Cliristniiis- 
trees,  and  the  ancients  of  the  isle  hung  out  their  banners  to  greet  tiie  day. 

Emerging  from  the  woods  at  a  farm-house  at  the  head  of  a  cove,  a  foot- 
path leads  to  the  promontory  at  its  hither  side.  It  is  thrust  a  little  out  iVoin 
the  land,  sheltering  the  cove  while  itself  receiving  the  full  onset  of  the  sea. 
An  intrusion  of  white  rock  in  the  seaward  face  is  supposed  by  those  of  an  im- 
aginative turn  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  a  schooner;  and,  in  order  to  cdiii- 
plete  the  similitude,  two  flag-stati's  had  been  erected  on  the  top  of  the  clitl". 
At  best,  I  fancy  it  will  be  found  a  phantom  ship  to  lure  the  niaiiner  to  tlu- 
stniction. 

I  dill  not  find  Schooner  Head  so  remarkable  for  its  height  as  in  tlie  evi- 
dences everywhei'e  of  the  crtishing  blows  it  has  received  wiiiie  battling  witli 
storms.  "Hard  pounding  thi><,  gentlemen;  but  we  shall  see  who  can  j)ouiitl 
longest,"  said  the  Iron  Duke  at  Waterloo.  Here  are  the  rents  and  ruins  of 
ceaseless  assault  and  repulse.  The  ocean  is  slowly  but  steadily  advariciii;,' 
on  both  sides  of  the  continent;  perchance  it  is,  after  all,  susceptible  of  calcula- 
tion how  long  the  land  shall  endure. 

I  clambered  among  the  huge  blocks  of  granite  that  nothing  less  than 
steam  could  now  have  stirred,  although  they  had  once  been  displaced  by  a 
few  drops  of  water  acting  together.  A  terrible  rent  in  the  east  side  of  the 
cliff  is  locally  known  as  the  Spouting  Horn.  Down  at  its  base  the  sea  has 
worn  through  the  rock,  leaving  a  low  arch.  At  the  flood,  with  suflicient  sia 
on,  and  an  oft'-shore  wind,  a  wave  rolls  in  through  the  cavity,  mounts  tlie 
escarpment,  and  leaps  high  above  the  opening  with  a  roar  like  the  boomiii!:; 
of  heavy  oi'dnance.     These  natural  curiosities  are  not  UJilVequent  along  tiie 


''^.i''-'j 
.-•m 


CAVE  OF  THE  SEA,  SCnOONER  HEAD. 


CHRISTMAS  ON  JrOUNT  DKSERT. 


47 


i-ast  about 
Jliristnms- 
le  (lay. 
)vc',  :i  it'ot- 
t»  out  iVmu 
of  tlie  sea. 
e  of  ail  iiu- 
lor  to  colli- 
)r  tlie  cliff, 
iiicr  to  (Ic- 

ill  tlio  cvi- 
ttliiig  with 

can  pouiul 
lid  ruins  of 

advanciii;,' 
;  of  culcula- 

Sjr    less    tllilll 

placed  by  a 
side  of  tln' 
the  sea  lias 
iitlicient  sea 
mounts  the 
le  boominu 
t  aloiiir  thf 


coast.  There  is  one  of  considerable 
j)o\ve>-  at  Cape  Arundel,  Elaine,  that 
1  liave  lieai<l  when  two  miles  from 
the  spot.  Unfortunately  for  the  tour- 
ist, these  grand  displays  are  usual- 
ly in  storms,  when  few  care  to  be 
abroad;  undoubtedly,  the  outward 
ni.in  may  be  protected  and  the  in- 
ward e.xalted  at  such  times.  Some 
of  the  more  adventurous  go  tlirough 
the  Horn:  I  went  around  it. 

1  saw  liere  a  few  ruminant  shee]» 
gazing  oft' upon  the  sea.  What  should 
a  sheep  see  in  the  ocean? 

On  the  fartlier  side  of  the  cove  is 
a  sea-cavern  that  has  the  reputation 
of  being  the  tiuest  on  the  island. 
Within  its  gloomy  recesses  are  rock 
j)Ools  of  rare  interest  to  the  natural- 
ist. In  proper  season  they  will  be 
loniid  inhabited  by  the  sea-anemone 
,iiid  other  ami  more  debatable  forms 
nf  animal  life.  Some  of  these;  acpiaria 
1  liave  seen  are  of  marvelous  beauty, 
recalling  the  lines, 

"  Full  many  n  gem  of  purest  rny  serene 
The  dark  uufiithoined  caves  of  ocean  bear." 

Lined  with  mother-of-}»earl  and  scar- 
let mussels,  resting  on  beds  of  soft 
s|)oii<j;e  or  purple  nioss-tnfts,  these 
I  liry  grottoes  are  the  favorite  retreat 
(if  King  Crab  and  his  myrmidons,  of 
the  star-tish  and  sea-urchin.  Twice 
111  every  twenty-four  hours  the  basins 
■.WW  retilled  with  pure  sea-water,  than 
\\  liicli  nothing  can  be  more  tranvpar- 
v\\\.  Strange  that  these  rugged  crags, 
u  here  the  grasp  of  man  would  be  loos- 
I'lied  by  the  tirst  wave,  should  be  in- 
stinct with  life!  It  recpiired  some 
I' nee  to  detach  a  mussel  from  its  bed, 
.iiul  you   must  have  recourse  to   your  knife  to  remove  the  barnacles  with 


CLIFFS   AT   SCnOONEK   HEAU. 


¥ 


i 


48 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


f 


devil's  iJEJJ   ANi)   SC1100^EU  UEAU. 

■\vliich  the  sniootlior  rocks  arc  incrustcil.  John  Ailanis,  Avlicn  he  first  saw  tlie 
sea-iiiR'inono,  foiii]).'ire(l  it,  in  fiirurc  and  il'clinir,  to  a  vonnix  oii-rs  hroast. 

iMount  Dc'iscrt  has  been  familiar  to  two  oftlie  greatest  of  American  natu- 
ralists. When  Andiibon  was  preparing-  liis  magnificent  "Jiirds  of  America," 
he  visited  the  island,  and  I  liave  no  doubt  the  re])ort  of  liis  ritie  was  oI'ilmi 
lieard  echoing:  among  the  mountains  or  along  the  shores.  Agassiz  was  also 
liere,  interrogating  the  i-ocks,  ra])])ing  their  stony  knuckles  with  his  liamnicr, 
or  ])ressing  their  gaunt  ribs  with  playful  familiaiity.  Audubon  died  in  1851. 
Agassiz  is  more  freshly  remembered  by  the  ])rescnt  generation,  to  whoin  lie 
made  the  pathway  of  Natural  Science  bright  b}^  his  genius,  and  pleasant,  by 
liis  genuine,  whole-hearted  bonhomie. 

In  1858  the  Frendi  Government  devoted  itself,  with  extreme  solicitude,  to 
the  reorganization  of  tlie  administration  of  the  jMuseum  of  Natural  Ilistoiy 
of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  at  Paris.  It  appears  that,  in  spite  of  a  tirst  refuMil, 
several  times  repeated, Agassiz  at  length  consented  to  accept  the  dinction  of 
the  museum.  The  Emperor,  who  had  formed  a  personal  acquaintance  with 
the  celebrated  naturalist  during  his  sojourn  in  Switzerland,  pursued  with  cus- 
tomary pertinacity  his  favorite  idea  c  ''alluring  M.  Agassiz  to  Paris.  lie  Mas 
offered  a  salary  of  twenty-five  thousand  francs;  and  it  was  understood  lie 
was  promised,  besides,  elevation  to  the  dignity  of  senator,  of  which  the  ap- 
pointments were  worth  twenty-five  thousand  francs  more. 


'-'% 


CirUISTMAS  ON  MOUNT  DKSKKT. 


40 


•st  saw  the 
•cast. 

•icaii  iiatii- 

Amei'ica,"  ; 

was  ol'tiii 
I/,  was  alxt 

is  lianuiHT. 
,ch1  in  l>^')\. 
o  whom  1h' 

Kasaiit,  liy 

)licitiulc\  to 
ral  llisUMV 
rst  vefiis:il, 
lirrctioii  of 
itance  Mitli 
d  with  oiis- 
s,  lie  was 
orstond  lir 
ich  the  ap- 


T  have  tlioii<i;ht  it  fittiiij?  to  give  Agassiz's  own  report  of  hia  first  introdiie- 
tioii  to  an  American  public:^ 

"When  I  came  to  lioston,"  said  he,  "  the  first  eon  rse  which  I  gave  had 
live  thousand  auditors,  and  I  was  obliged  to  divide  tliem  into  two  sections  ot" 
twenty-five  hundred  caeli,  and  to  repeat  each  lesson.  Tii is  course  was  given 
in  the  hirge  liall  of  the  Treniont  Temple." 

"Do  you  think,"  he  was  asked, "  that  in  such  a  crowd  it  was  the  fashion 
or  the  desire  for  instruction  which  dominated?" 

"  Xo  doubt,"  he  replied,  "it  was  a  serious  desire  for  instru(!lion.  1  have 
plenty  of  proofs  of  it  coming  from  jiersons  belonging  to  the  lower  classes. 
]''.)r  instance,  it  is  usual  here  to  accord  to  persons  who  go  out  to  service  full 
lil)erty  after  a  certain  hour  in  the  evening,  solely  to  go  to  the  course  of  lec- 
tures; that  is  made  a  pait  of  the  agreement.  A  lady  who  had  a  very  strong 
desire  to  hear  me,  told  me  that  it  was  imjiossible  for  her  to  do  so.  Her  cook 
was  the  first  informed  of  my  amiouncement,  took  the  initiative,  and  obtained 
Jier  j)romise  of  liberty  for  the  hour  of  the  evening  when  1  t.iught,  and  left  her 
finistress  to  take  care  of  the  house  alone.  On  her  return  she  explained  very 
clearly  what  I  had  said." 

■  The  slow  sale  of  Agassiz's  works  in  Europe  decided  lijm  to  pass  fifteen 
inniiths  in  the  United  States;  and  the  revolution  of  1848  changed  this  inten- 
tiiiii  into  a  j)urpose  of  permanent  residence.  Agassiz  was  tall,  coi'pnlent, bent, 
alher  by  continual  study  than  with  age.  His  forehead  was  broa(',  high,  and 
little  retreating;  his  countenance  conspicuorrly  Swiss,  by  the  largeness  of 
is  features,  the  gravity  and  benevolence  of  his  expression.  His  hair  was  gray, 
,nd  little  abundant.  lie  spoke  German  and  English  witli  facility,  but  had  to 
me  extent  unlearned  his  French.  Although  his  conversation  was  without 
lability,  when  he  grew  animated  in  talking  upon  great  questions  his  ox- 
•ession  became  noble  and  majestic.  "There  was  in  him  a  remarkable  force 
thought  and  will,  lie  appeared  like  a  man  who  makes  haste  slowly;  but 
notwithstanding  tlie  adage,  no  one  can  withhold  an  involuntary  astonishment 
at  the  great  works  he  has  been  able  to  achieve."  Agassiz  belonged  to  the 
nvhk'sse  of  science  and  of  litei-ature.  Wlien  such  mt.i  die  they  can  not  be 
said  to  leave  legitimate  successors. 

.Mount  Desert  has  itself  produced  a  man  of  marked  us-fulness  in  David 
\^  iHgatt  Clark,  D.D.,  a  Wesleyan  divine,  wdio  was  elected  bishop  in  1 864.  He 
accomplished  extensive  literary  labors,  was  intrusted  with  higli  and  responsi- 
ble ]K)siti()ns,and  although  a  puny  boy,  the  jest  of  his  companionr  of  a  more  vo- 
bn-l  mould,  completed  nearly  threescore  years  of  a  laborious  and  eventful  life. 
iM'om  Schooner  Head  1  ])ursuod  my  way  by  the  road  to  Great  Head.  And 
while  en  route  I  should  not  forget  the  Lynam  Homestead,  to  which  Cole, 
Church,  Giftord,  Hart,  Parsons,  Warren,  Bierstadt,  and  others  renowMied  in 
American  art  have  from  time  to  time  resorted  to  enrich  their  studios  from 
the  abounding  wealth  of  the  neighborhood. 


50 


Till",   NKVV  KXIJLANI)  COAST. 


II 


One  of  the  first  artists  to  come  to  tlie  islainl  was  Fisher.  Chiirch,  wliosc 
name  is  ussociated  with  its  ritliscovery,  <li>l  not  always  come  for  wori\.  On 
>ne  occasion,  as  leader  of  a  merry  party,  he  was  lost  on  IJeech  Mountain,  uml 
passed  the  night  there.  V/ith  rare  j)i'«vision  l»e  iiud  provide(l  an  axe,  w  i 
,I)lenty  of  robes  and  wraps.  At  the  foot  ')f  the  nionntain  the  carriage  wa 
sent  back  to  the  village.  Church  was  too  good  a  woodman  not  to  nse  liis 
axe  to  make  a  shanty  of  boughs,  while  the  r()l)es,  when  spread  upon  fragrant 
heaps  of  spruce,  made  excellent  couches  ic-r  the  laughing  girls  that  wer*;  un- 
der his  protection.  Meanwhile  consternation  reigned  at  Somesville.  jNIi  ;s(mi- 
gers  were  sent  hither  and  thither  in  haste;  but  no  tidings  arrived  of  the  ;ili- 
sent  ones  until  the  next  moiiiing,  when  they  entered  the  village  as  if  notliiinr 
unusual  had  happened. 

(Jreat  Head  is  easily  found.  The  road  we  have  been  pursuing  conies  to 
ail  abrui)t  emling  at  a  house  within  a  tshort  half-mile  of  it.  Foiiu-v  the  slioiv 
backward  toward  Schooner  Head,  and  you  will  staiul  in  presence  of  the  bolii- 
est  headland  in  all  New  England.  I  saw  that  no  foot-print  but  my  own  Imil 
lately  passed  that  way.  There  was  something  in  thus  having  it  all  to  one's 
self. 

To  appreciate  Great  Head  one  must  stand  'inderneatli  it;  but  the  descent, 
always  ditUcult,  was  rendered  perilous  by  the  newly-formed  ice.  By  diiil  ot 
perseverance  I  at  last  stood  ui)on  the  ledge  beneath,  that  extends  out  liken 
platform  for  some  distance  toward  deep  water.  It  was  tlie  light  stage  of  the 
tide.  I  looked  u])  at  the  face  of  the  clitf.  It  was  bearded  with  icicles,  like 
the  Genius  of  Winter.  Along  the  upper  edge  a))peared  the  interlacing  roots 
of  old  trees  grasping  the  scanty  soil  like  monster  talons.  Stunted  birclies, 
bent  by  storms,  skirted  its  brow,  and  at  sea  add  to  its  height.  From  top  to 
bottom  the  face  of  the  clift"  is  a  mass  of  hard  <j;raiiite,  overhanging  its  fouiulii- 
tions  in  impending  ruin,  shivered  and  splintereil  as  if  toi'u  by  some  treiueit 
dous  explosion.     I  could  only  think  of  the  last  sketch  of  Delaroche. 

The  sea  rolls  in   great  waves  that  overwhelm  evei-y  thing  within  their    -t; 

reach.     ]More  than  once  I  started  back  at  the  approach  ol'one  of  them.     Just    ;#?,, 

outside  the  first  line  of  breakers  rode  a  flock  of  wild  fowl,  and  occasioimllv    '§;«: 

.  .'     "■'^^'■ 

the  mournful  cry  of  a  loon,  or  shriller  scream  of  a  sea-gull,  mingled  with  lii'     ;;;.? 

roar  of  the  surf     Farther  out,  at  the  distance  of  a  mile,  a  wicked-looking  rock     |{. 

and  ledge  was  flinging  ott*  the  seas,  flecking  its  tawny  flanks  with  foam,  likoa     lif 

war-horse  impatiently  champing  at  his  bit. 

Looking  ort'  from  Great  Head  to  the  eastwanl,  the  main-land  is  jierccivcil 

trending  away  until  it  loses  itself  in  the  oce.'in.     At  the  extremity  of  this  lauJ 

is  Schoodic  Point  and  jNIountain,  with  Mosquito  Harbor  indenting  it    The 

water  between  is  not  the  true  "  Baye  Franyoise"  of  Champlain,  Lescarbot, 

and  others.     The  appellation  belongs  of  right  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  perpetii-. 

ating  as  it  does  the  misadventure  of  Nicolas  Aubri,  one  of  the  company  of  Df 

Monts,  who  was  lost  in  the  woods  there.     As  this  is  not  the  only  historic  an'iM 


•cb,  whoso 
vork.  Oil 
lutiiiu,  siiul 
!ixi>,  with 
ri'iaijo  was 
to  use  liis 
)n  lV!i_u;r;uil 
,t  w^iv>^  uu- 

I  of  llic  III)- 
j  if  iiolli'mg 

i(r  conios  to 
•v  the  sIhuv 
of  the  hiild- 
ny  own  huil 
all  to  oiu'V 

the  descent, 
l>y  (lint  (if 
.Is  out  liko  ;i 
[  stride  of  till' 
ififles,  likf 
•liu'ing  VDotJ 
iti'd  birc'lu'N 
From  tojt  to 
()•  its  fouiiil;' 
)inc  treiiuii 
le. 

within  tlit'ii 
thoin.  .liiv 
(icc!isiou:illv 
.■led  with  1 
lookinu;  1'"'" 
1  t'oiun,  lik('  ^ 

is  porccivt'il 
ly  of  this  l:i"il 

tinji  it    'fli'' 

In,  Lescarhot. 

mly,  pori'L't"- 

bnipany  i»t'lV 

historii'  ;ik 


-•♦'1» 


:*• 


■frT 

^ 

'^ 

GUEAT    HEAD. 


«*•''■ 


>, 


h    !1 

bi  ii 


CHRISTMAS  ON  MOUNT  DESEKT. 


53 


fachronisrn  by  iv.aiiy  tliat  may  be  mot  with  on  our  coasts,!  do  not  propose  to 
quarrel  with  it,  the  le&s  that  a  Frenchman  was  tlie  first  white  here.     The  name 
lias  been  current  for  about  a  century,  though  on  old  French  maps  it  is  found 
I  to  lie  farther  east. 

The  north  wind  was  beating  down  yesterday's  sea,  sweeping  over  the  bil- 
llows,  and  whirling  their  crests  far  away  to  leeward.  Along  the  rocks  the 
Ifoam  lay  like  wool-fleeces,  or  was  whisked  about,  dabbling  the  grim  fuj.  of 
[the  clitf  with  creamy  spots.     Otiier  Iieadlands  were  mailed  in  ice. 

Mount  Desert  Kock  is  about  twenty  miles  south-south-east  of  the  island, 
'and  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  from  the  nearest  land.     It  has  a  light-house, 
built  ujion  naked,  shapeless  ledges.     There  is  another  on  Baker's  Island,  otf 
the  entrance  to  Somes's  Sound. 

Natural  sea-marks,  like  Great  Head  Cliff,  are  preferred  by  mariners  to 
artificial  buoys  or  beacons.  No  one  that  has  seen  them  will  be  likely  to  for- 
get the  Pan  of  ^latanzas,  or  the  Cabanas  of  Havana.  ]5efore  the  excellent 
system  inaugurated  by  the  United  Stales  Coast  Survey,  trees,  standing  singly 
or  in  groups,  often  gave  direction  how  to  steer  on  a  dangerous  coast.  Some- 
times they  were  lopped  on  one  side,  or  made  to  take  some  peculiarity  of  shape 
that  would  distinguish  them  from  all  otheis.  Thus  some  solitary  old  cedar 
becomes  a  guide-board  known  to  all  who  travel  on  ocean  highways. 

Tlie  next  point  of  inteivst  will  be  fi)und  at  Otter  Creek,  which  may  be 
naclied  in  good  weather  by  sailing,  by  the  direct  road  from  Bar  Harbor,  al- 
ready mentioned,  or  by  crossing  tlie  lower  ridge  of  Newport  jNIountain  from 
(ircat  Head. 

After  a  last  look  at  the  sea,  which  was  of  a  dingy  green,  and  broke  angri- 
';  ly  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  the  ofting,  I  entered  the  trail  that  was  to 

JBH^riiig  me  to  Otter  Creek. 

^^^B    Newport's  southern  ))eak  was  just  overhead,  its  sharp  protuberances  made 
^^^^■nootli  by  knobs  of  ice  tliat  reseinl)led  the  bosses  of  a  target.     There  reached 
^^Hpe  occasional  rajjid  glimpses  of  the  sea  in  Uhcending,  but  I  walked  chiefly 
^^Hb  a  dense  growth  that  excluded  all  light,  excejit  when  the  glint  of  the  sun 
-         through  the  tree-to])s  fell  in  golden  bars  across  my  way      Prostrate  and  use- 
Ic'^sly  rotting  was  wood  enough  to  have  kept  a  good-sized  village  thrur.gh 
the  winter.     The  air  was  light  and  elastic.     I  do  not  think  a  pleasanter  ram- 
ble is  to  be  had  on  the  island  than  this  Ibrest-walk. 

"O'er  wiiuly  liill,  thniiigh  cIof^iKod  ravine, 
Ami  woodliiiul  patlis  'hat  vvotnul  liotween 
Low  drooping  pine-bouglis  winter-wcigliod." 


At  Otter  Creek  is  a  scattered   settlement  and   an  inlet  of  the  sea,  into 
."l^liieh  the  creek  empties.     The  island  traditions  say  the  j)lace  was  once  the 

tvorite  retreat  of  the  otter.     There  are  cliffs  to  admire  or  study  on  the  sea- 
ore,  and  Thunder  Cave  is  there  to  explore. 


64 


THE  NEW  ENGLiVNI)  COAST. 


Ill  lliis  poc'lcet-editioii  of  Soincs's  Somul  wo  find  ourselves  once  more  luukr 
the  shadow  of  Green  jMouiitain,  and  upon  lookhig-  back  iin  tlie  valley  a  pass 
opens  between  it  and  Newport,  through  which  the  road  finds  its  way  to  Jjur 
Ilai'bor. 

The  dwellings  here,  as  elsewhere  on  the  island,  are  humble,  and  bespeak, 
in  many  instances,  a  near  a])proach  to  poverty.  In  the  lai'ger  villages  there 
are  comfortable  and  even  substantial  re  >ideuces,  but  the  impression  of  iin- 
thrift  is  associated  with  the  proper  population.  The  reasons  are  obvious, 
The  first  inhabitants  o()t  their  livelihood  by  fishing,  and  formerly  many  ves- 
sels were  fitted  out  from  the  Sound.  Perhaps  not  a  few  went  for  the  (loveni- 
nient  bounty.  With  the  failure  of  this  industry  little  was  left  on  which  to 
depeiul.  A  scanty  subsistence  at  most  could  be  wrung  from  the  soil,  tluninli 
Williamson,  the  historian  of  ^Maine,  avers  this  was  once  strong  and  fertile  in 
tlie  valleys.  The  laud,  by  the  removal  of  crops  without  restoring  the  ele- 
ments essential  to  it,  has  been  growing  poorer  year  by  year.  A  little  hay  is 
cut  on  the  uplands,  and  at  Pretty  IMarsh  are  some  hundreds  of  acres  of  s;ilt 
meadow.  The  mountains  have  been  stripped  of  their  wood  to  the  last  iiier- 
ehantable  tree.  At  tiiis  nnjtromising  junctui'e  the  island  became  siuldeiilv 
famous,  and  is  now  among  the  most  frecpiented  of  American  summer  resorts, 
None  could  be  more  astonished  at  their  own  prosperity  than  tiiese  islanders, 
who,  being,  as  a  whole  and  in  a  marked  degree,  incapal)le  of  appreciating  tlic 
grandeur  of  the  scenes  with  which  they  have  from  infimcy  been  familiar,  look 
with  scarce  concealed  dis<lain  upon  the  admiration  they  inspii-e  in  others. 

Some  handsome  cottages  have  already  sprung  out  of  the  prevailing  iisjli- 
ness  at  Bar  Harbor.  At  (ireat  Head  a  tract  of  considerable  extent  has  been 
inclosed.  The  star  of  Mount  Desert  is  clearly  in  the  ascendant,  as,  however 
prudent  the  city  man  may  be  at  liome,  all  purse-strings  are  loosened  at  the 
sea-side.  The  French  ])voyovh,  ^^11  f ant  fa f re  on  se  tain',''''  is  usually  con- 
strued into  the  modern  barbaric  "  play  or  pay"  at  the  shore.  Not  one  of  these 
worthy  landlords  was  ever  known  to  fall,  like  Vatel,  on  his  own  sword  Ik- 
cause  there  was  not  enough  roast  meat.  Nevertheless,  at  the  risk  of  for- 
feiting tlie  reader's  good  opinion,  I  will  siiy  that  there  are  landlords  with 
consciences,  and  I  have  botli  seen  and  spoken  with  such  on  Mount  Desert. 

Another  of  my  excursions,  which  aflTorded  new  enteitainment  with  ucv 
scenes,  was  a  pedestrian  jaunt  from  Otter  Creek  to  North-east  Harbor.  Tlii< 
route  commands  fine  ocean  views  in  the  direction  of  the  entrance  to  tin 
Sound  and  of  the  outlying  islands.  You  first  ojk'u  Seal  Cove,  and,  crossiiiL' 
the  shingle  road  at  its  head,  in  two  miles  and  a  half  of  fiirther  progress  skirt 
ing  tlie  eastern  shore  of  the  Sound,  arrive  at  the  head  of  North-east  Harber. 
an  inconsiderable  village,  in  which  Williamson  conjectures  La  Saussaye  fii)ni 
ly  landed. 

Seven   miles  more  along  the  eastern  base  of  ]?rown's  ]\[ountain,  in  tin 
sombre  shadows  of  which  the  road  nestles,  brings  us  l)ack  to  the  tavern  doot 


is  > 

aii\ 

Ollh 
:I)e^, 
iiy 
liiak. 
Jul: 
■  .tw  ( 

is 

-:tiiiie 
fiiMJ  1 

II I  e 

plil'SII 


■rW'^*. 


CIIUISTMAS  ON   MOUNT  DKSEKT. 


move  Tuidev 
lUey  a  jiuss 
way  to  Bur 

11(1  bespoalc, 
11  ages  tluM'e 
ssion  of  nil- 
ire  obvious, 
Y  many  vos- 
the  (tovciii- 
on  whu'li  tu 
soil,  tliouirii 
,nd  tertilc  in 
•ing  the  v\v- 
little  hay  i> 
aeres  ot'  salt 
the  last  nioi- 
i\e  suddenly 
liner  resorts, 
L'se  islandois, 
reeiating  the 
familiar,  look 
n  others, 
nailing  iigli- 
ent  has  hiHii 
,  as,  howevir 
)sened  at  tln' 
usually  con- 
t  one  of  these 
n  sword  he- 
risk  of  for- 
ndlords  with 
t  Desert. 
Mt  with  iun\ 
arbor.     Vu' 
ranee  to  tin 
\nd,  crossin.' 
ro<T'ress  i-knt' 
•cast  llail)"!. 
vussaye  tiii;i- 

ntain,  in  tli 
taveni  '1'" 


at  Somesville.  This  road 
erosses  a  limb  of  Iladloek's 
V,  Pond,  and  is  skirted  for 
I  some  distance  by  a  fine 
,  grove  of  beeehes.  In  sum- 
iiu'i-time  this  part  of  the 
■  route  is  traversed  under 
a  eano])y  of  overarcliing 
brauches,  whose  dense  fo- 
liage excludes  all  but  a 
few  straggling  rays  that 
let  fall  a  shimmer  of  de- 
licious sunlight,  for  the 
moment  "lorifving  all  that 
pass  beneath. 
f  It  may  chance  that  the 
visitor  will  first  ))ass  over 
llic  section  already  trav- 
ersed in  these  j>ages ;  or  it 
may  so  fjdl  out  that  he  will 
decide  to  undertake  a  run 
by  the  shore  north  of  Bar 
Ilaibor  in  advance  of  oth- 
er excursions.  In  this  case 
iSaulsbury's  Cove  and  the 
''()vens"   become  his  ob- 

I  liave  already  fore- 
anicd  the  reader  that  it 
six  or  seven  miles  from 
ny  initial  point  to  any 
ot  her  given  point  on  Mount 
Desert  Island.  Thisequal- 
i(y  of  distance  sometimes 
makes  a  clioice  end)arrass- 
ini:-,  since  in  selecting  from 
t\M)  routes  the  preference 
i-  usually  given  to  the 
sliditer.  r>ul  it  will  some- 
times happen  that  he  will 
find  these  longer  than  stat- 
u'e  miles,  or  that  when 
pMisuing  his  way  with  all 


THB  (>\  i;.N? 


iALLsBLuv's  eu\  i;. 


56 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


i'iii 


imairinable  coniidenco,  it  is  hudiU'iily  blocked  by  a  inountuin  or  a  precipice. 
These  conliiigeiicies  make  walking  preferable.  A  horse  is  no  doubt  a  very 
useful  animal  where  there  are  roads. 

It  is  practicable  at  low  tide  to  read,  the  Ovens  by  the  beach,  but  as  this 
involves  many  difficulties,  it  is  better  to  take  the  road  beyond  Hull's  Cove, 
two  niile:^  from  ]iar  Harbor.  The  cove  is  said  to  have  been  named  for  a 
brt)ther  of  General  William  Hull.  It  was  resorted  to  (juite  early  in  the  s^ct- 
tlenient  of  the  island.  Here  was  the  dwelling  -  place  of  the  Gregoires,  lo 
whom  Massachusetts  ceded  the  whole  island  upon  ])roof,  exhibited  in  ITsy, 
that  Madame  Gregoire  was  the  lineal  descendant  of  Cadillac,  who  claiiucd 
under  his  urant  from  Louis  XIV.  in  1G88.'  The  meditative  reader  niuv 
ponder  upon  this  resumption  under  a  French  title  as  an  evidence  that  tiiiio 
at  last  )nakes  all  things  even.  It  would  not  seem  inapjjropriate,  inasmuch  as 
two  women  have  had  so  prominent  a  share  in  the  history  of  ]\Iount  Desert, 
to  perpetuate  the  names  of  Guercheville  and  Gregoire.  The  graves  of  lliu 
Gregoires  may  be  seen  near  the  north-east  corner  of  the  burial -grouiul, 
Monsieur  is  asserted  to  have  been  a  bon-vivant. 

The  Ovens  are  caverns  hollowed  out  by  the  waves  in  the  softer  masses 
of  the  cliffs.  When  the  tide  is  comjiletely  down  a  pebbly  beach  sViclves  awav 
to  low-water  mark.  The  feldspar  and  porphyry  of  which  the  rocks  are  com- 
posed iujpart  a  cheerfulness  to  the  walls  of  these  grottoes  more  pleasing  after 
descending  into  the  gloomy  recesses  of  the  south  shore.  Near  the  Ovens  is 
a  i^assage  driven  through  a  ])rojecting  cliff,  known  as  T7«  Jfala. 

In  passing,  the  reader  will  give  me  leave  to  mention  another  woman  whosu 
influence  was  felt  in  the  affaii's  of  Acadia.  It  was  Henrietta,  Duchesse  d'Or- 
leans,  and  aunt  of  Louis  XIV.,  who  obtained  the  relinquishment  of  Acadia  hv 
her  husband,  Charles  I.  of  unfortunate  memory,  under  the  peace  of  1032.  Tiii' 
fate  of  the  widowed  queen  is  involved  in  one  of  the  most  repulsive  chapters 
of  history.  According  to  contemporary  accounts,  she  fell  a  victim  to  the 
ix'ign  of  the  poisoners  in  the  time  of  Louis.  By  the  testimony  of  the  Marqwis 
Dangeau  and  other  annalists  of  the  times,  the  poison  had  been  sent  by  tlie 
Chevalier  I)e  Lorraine,  her  lover,  then  in  England. 

The  reader  may  nowconipleto  the  circuit  of  the  island  at  leisure.  In  tak- 
ing leave  of  these  hills,  I  would  observe  that  although  not  every  one  is  |ios- 
sessed  of  a  knowledge  of  woodcraft,  or  of  the  muscles  of  a  mountaineer,  it  is 
far  better  to  depart  the  beaten  ])aths  and  to  seek  out  new  conquests.  For  my 
own  part,  I  may  safely  guarantee  that  in  finding  himself  for  the  first  time  (ui 
Mount  Desert,  the  visitor  Avill  be  as  thoroughly  suiprised  as  impressed  in  lln 
presence  of  natural  scenes  so  pronounced  in  character,  and  so  unique  in  tlieii 
relation  to  and  environment  by  the  sea. 


'  Sec  Williiini^on,  vol.  i.,  p,  70;  "  Kesoh-es  of  Mnssnchiisctts,"  July  and  Xovenilier,  1787: 
"New  York  Coloiiinl  Documents,"  vol.  ix.,  p.  CJ-t.  Mr.  De  Costiv  has  given  a  summary  of  tliese 
in  his  pleasant  little  book. 


CFIRISTMAS  ON  MOUNT  DESERT. 


57 


pvecipu'o. 
bt  a  very 

Mit  as  this 
nil's  Cove, 
med  for  a 
in  the  set- 
'egoiivs,  lo 
hI  in  1787, 
lio  clainiod 
oader  nuiy 
3  that  time 
nasmuch  fis 
unt  Dcsoit, 

lives    of  till' 

i;il  -  grouiul, 


III  my  way  to  and  from  this  remote  corner  of  New  England,  it  was  my 
fortune  to  encounter  a  single  instance  of  that  iiujuisitorial  propensity  known 
the  world  over  as  Yankee  curiosity.  On  arriving  at  a  late  hour  at  Ellsworth, 
the  laucHord,  a  great  burly  fellow,  drew  a  chair  close  to  mine,  pushed  his  hat 
back  from  his  brows — every  body  here  wears  his  hat  in  the  house — spat  in 
the  grate,  smote  his  knees  with  his  big  palms,  and  said, 

"  Look  a  here,  mister !  I  know  'tan't  none  o'  my  business ;  but  what  might 
you  be  agoin' to  Mount  Desart  arter?"  And  in  the  same  breath, "  I'm  from 
Mount  Desart." 

"  Certes,"  thought  I,  "  if  it's  none  of  your  business,  why  do  you  ask?" 

Tlie  same  publican  afterward  let  a  fellow- wayfarer  and  myself  a  sick 
horse  that  proved  unfit  to  travel  when  we  were  well  upon  our  journey.  I 
forgave  him  all  but  the  making  me  the  unwilling  instrument  of  his  cruelty  to 
a  dumb  beast. 


ifter  masses 
lelves  away 
;ks  are  coin- 
leasing  afU'v 
he  Ovens  is 

oman  whosi- 
chesse  d'Oi- 
f  Acadiii  liy 
1(332.    Thf 
e  chapters  h, 
tim  to  tlie  I 
le  Marquis  v 
sent  by  the  ! 

re.  In  tak-  v 
one  is  pos-  . 
taineer,  it  is 
For  my 
irst  time  on 
essed  in  llii 
(pie  in  tlieir 


-^^i-siAOi 


vember,  I's^T 
nmiiry  of  tin.-' 


"'^"'•"-■^I 


v_ 


CASTINE,  Ari'UOACIlINli    FliOM    ISLESUOUO. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CASTINE. 


"A  wind  came  up  out  of  tlie  sea, 
And  said,  'O  mists,  make  room  for  me.'" 

L()Soi'i:t.i-ow. 

WHOEVER  has  turned  over  the  pages  of  early  New  England  liistory  ciiii 
not  fail  to  have  had  his  curiosity  piqued  by  the  relations  of  old  French 
M'riters  respecting  this  extreme  outpost  of  French  enii)ire  in  America.  Tin 
traditions  of  the  existence  of  an  ancient  and  populous  city,  going  far  beyoii'l 
any  English  attempt  in  this  corner  of  tlie  continent,  are  of  themselves  suf- 
ficient to  excite  the  ardent  pursuit  of  an  antiquary,  and  to  set  all  the  biis^y 
hives  of  historical  searchers  in  a  buzz  of  excitement. 

That  scoffer,  Lescarbot,  would  dispose  of  the  ancient  city  of  Nornmboca 
as  Vc)ltaire  would  have  disposed  of  tlie  Christian  religion — with  a  sarca^in; 
but,  if  there  be  truth  in  the  apothegm  that  "seeing  is  believing,"  the  i'on- 
runners  of  Champlain  came,  saw,  and  ?nade  a  note  of  it.  "  Now,"  says  the  ad- 
vocate, "if  that  beautiful  city  was  ever  in  nature,  I  should  like  to  know  who 
demolished  it;  for  there  are  only  a  few  cabins  here  aiul  there,  made  of  poks 
and  covered  with  the  bark  of  trees  or  skins;  and  both  liabitation  and  rivti 
are  called  Pemptegoet,  and  not  Agguncia."' 

I  apjiroached  tlie  famed  river  in  a  dense  fog,  in  which  the  steamer  cautimis- 
ly  threaded  her  way.  Earth,  sky,  and  water  were  equally  indistiiiguishabli'. 
A  volume  of  pent  steam  gushing  from  the  pipes  hoarsely  trumpeted  our  ap- 
proach, and  then  streamed  in  a  snow-white  plume  over  the  taffrail,  and  was 
lost  in  tlie  surrounding  obscurity.     The  decks  were  wet  with  the  damps  of 


'  Lescmbot,  vol.  ii.,  p,  471. 


CASTINE. 


59 


history  r,w 

[■  old  FreiK'li 
ii'vica.  Till 
far  beyoii'l 
Imsolves  sut- 
lull  the  busy 

lNorninl)o;i;i 
a  sarcasm : 
„"  the  ion- 
says  the  ail- 
o  know  wli" 
|ade  of  })t'li- 
m  and  rivn 

ler  canticih- 

Lin;j;uishiilili. 
I'ted  our  a|'- 
lail,  and  wa^ 
lie  damps  it 


the  niornhig;  the  few  passengers  stirrinjj;  seemed  lifeless  and  unsocial.  Here 
and  there,  as  we  floated  in  the  midst  of  this  cloud,  the  jtaddles  impatiently 
heating  tlie  water,  were  visible  the  tojjmasts  of  vessels  at  aiudior,  though  in 
lilt'  (linniess  they  seemed  wonderfully  like  the  protruding  spars  of  so  many 
sunken  craft.  Ilails  or  voices  from  them  sounded  preternaturally  loud  and 
distinct,  as  also  did  the  noise  of  oars  in  fog-bewildered  boats.  The  blast  of  a 
fog-horn  near  or  far  occasionally  sounded  a  hoarse  refrain  to  the  warning  that 
issued  from  the  brazen  throat  of  the  Titan  chained  in  our  galley. 

At  this  instant  the  sun  emerging  from  his  dip  into  the  sea,  glowing  with 
])ower,  put  the  mists  to  fliglit.  First  they  parted  on  each  side  of  a  uroad 
])atli\vay  in  which  sky  and  water  re-appeared.  Then,  beft>re  brighter  gleams, 
ihcy  overthrew  and  trampled  upon  each  other  in  disorderly  rout.  A  few 
scattered  remnants  drifted  into  upper  air  and  vanished;  other  masses  clung 
to  the  shores  as  if  inclined  still  to  dispute  the  field.  Owl's  Head  light-house 
came  out  at  the  call  of  the  enchanter,  bliiddng  its  drowsy  eyes;  then  sunlit 
steeples  and  lofty  si)ars  glanced  up  and  out  of  the  fog-cloud  that  enveloped 
the  city  of  Rockland. 

The  vicinity  of  a  town  had  been  announced  by  cock-crowing,  the  rattling 
of  wheels,  or  occasional  sound  of  a  bell  from  some  church-tower;  but  all  these 
sounds  seemed  to  heighten  the  illusions  produced  by  the  fog,  and  to  endow 
its  impalpable  mass  witli  ghostly  life.  Vessels  imder  sail  appeared  weird  and 
spectral — phantom  ships,  that  came  into  view  for  a  moment  and  dissolved  an 
instant  after — masts,  shrouds,  and  canvas  melting  away — 

"As  clouds  with  clouds  embrace." 

llockland  is  a  busy  and  enterprising  place  in  the  inchoate  condition  of 
comparative  newness,  and  of  the  hurry  that  postpones  all  imi)rovements  not 
ol' iunnediate  utility.  Until  1848  it  had  no  place  on  the  map.  Back  of  the 
siltled  portion  of  Itockland  is  a  range  of  dark  green  hills,  with  the  easy 
t-lopes  and  smooth  contours  of  a  limestone  region.  I  know  not  if  llockland 
will  ever  be  finished,  for  it  is  continually  disemboweling  itself,  coining  its 
lock  foiuidations,  until  perchance  it  may  some  day  be  left  without  a  leg  to 
stand  on. 

Penobscot  Bay  is  magnificent  in  a  clear  day.  The  fastidious  De  Monts 
surveyed  and  passed  it  by.  Singularly  enough,  the  French,  who  searched 
the  New  England  coast  from  time  to  time  in  quest  of  a  milder  climate  and 
more  fertile  soil  than  that  of  Canada,  were  at  last  comi)elled  to  abide  by  their 
liist  discoveries,  and  inhabit  a  region  sterile  and  inhospitable  by  comparison. 
Had  it  fallen  out  otherwise,  Quebecs  and  Louisburgs  might  have  bristled 
along  her  sea-coast,  if  not  have  changed  her  political  destiny. 

Maine  has  her  forests,  her  townships  of  lime,  her  gi'anite  islands,  her  seas 
"f'ice— all,  beyond  dispute,  raw  products.  Fleets  detach  themselves  from  the 
l>anks  of  the  Penobscot  and  float  every  year  away. 


N 


jdW 


GO  THE  NKW  KNGLAND  COAST. 

"One  goes  abroad  for  merclmiulisc  and  tnuHiifj, 
Another  stays  to  keep  liis  country  from   invading, 
A  third  is  coming  iioino  with  rich  and  weahhy  lading. 
Halloo!    my  faniio,  whither  wilt  thou  go?" 

The  sutnptuoiia  Mtnicttires  we  erect  of  lier  granite  are  only  so  iiianj'  mon- 
uments to  Elaine.  !  Iiave  seen,  on  the  other  side  of  the  v-onlinent,  a  town 
wholly  built  of  ^faine  lumber.  While  Boston  was  yet  smoking,  her  :ieigiil)(ir 
was  getting  ready  the  lumber  ami  granit"  to  rebtiild  lier  better  than  ever. 
So  these  tri't'at  rivers  become  as  mere  mill-streams  in  the  Vroadcr  sense,  and, 
at  need,  a  telegraphic  order  for  a  town  or  a  fleet  would  be  ])rom])tly  Hlled. 

There  is  no  corner,  however  remote,  into  which  Maine  enterprise  does  not 
penetrate.  The  spirit  of  adventure  and  speculation  has  pushed  its  cominercu 
everywhere.  With  a  deck-load  of  lumber,  some  shingles,  or  barnds  of  lime, 
schooners  of  a  few  tons  burden,  and  manned  with  three  or  four  hands,  may  be 
met  with  hundreds  of  miles  at  sea,  steering  boldly  on  in  search  of  a  buyer. 
An  English  writer  narrates  his  surprise  at  seeing  in  the  latitude  of  llatteras, 
at  the  very  height  of  a  terrific  storm,  when  the  sea,  wreathed  with  foam,  was 
rolling  before  the  gale,  one  of  these  buoyant  little  vessels  scudding  like  a  spir- 
it through  the  mingling  tempest,  with  steady  sail  and  dry  decks,  toward  thu 
distant  liahamas. 

Rockland  was  formerly  a  j)art  of  Thomaston,'  and  is  upon  ground  ancient- 
ly cc.ered  by  the  Muscongus,  or  Waldo  patent,  which  passed  through  the 
ownership  of  some  personages  celebrated  in  their  day.  A  very  hr'mt' resume 
of  this  truly  seit^norial  possession  will  assist  the  reader  in  forming  some  idea 
of  the  state  of  the  old  colonial  magnates.  It  will  also  account  to  him  for  the 
names  of  the  counties  of  Knox  and  Lincoln. 

Prior  to  the  French  Revolution  there  were  distinctions  in  society  after- 
ward mdiiiown,  the  vestiges  of  colonial  relations.  JMen  in  office,  the  w'calthy, 
and  above  all,  those  Avho  laid  claim  to  good  descent,  were  the  gentry  in 
the  country.  Habits  of  life  and  ])ers()nal  adornment  were  outward  indica- 
tions of  superiority.  The  Revolution  drove  the  larger  number  of  this  class 
into  exile,  but  there  still  continued  to  be,  on  the  patriots'  side,  well-defined 
ranks  of  society.  There  was  also  a  class  who  held  large  lauded  estates,  in 
imitation  of  the  great  proprietors  of  England.  Tiiese  persons  formed  a  coini- 
try  gentry,  and  were  the  great  men  of  their  respective  counties.  They 
held  civil  and  military  offices,  and  were  members  of  the  Great  and  General 
Court. 

The  Muscongus  patent  was  granted  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  in  Ui;}0, 
to  John  Beauchamp  of  London,  and  John  Leverett  of  Boston,  England.  It 
embraced  a  tract  thirty  miles  square,  extending  between  the  Muscongus  and 
Penobscot,  being  limited  on  the  west  and  north  by  the  Kennebec  patent, 


'  Named  for  General  John  Thomas,  of  the  Revolution. 


% 


CASTINE. 


m 


lany  mon- 
it,  a  town 
I'  iit'iglibnv 
tl>an  over. 

St'IlSC,   Mini, 

y  iillc'd. 

0  (loos  not 
coininc'i'ce 

\h  of  lime, 
ids,  may  be 
:)f  a  buyer, 
f  llatteras, 

1  foam,  AViis 
like  a  sjiir- 

toward  lliu 

lul  ancient- 

[lii-oMgli  the 

rief  resume 

some  idea 

liin  for  the 


eio 


ty  after- 
e  wealthy, 
gentry  in 
rd  indica- 
lliis  class 
>11- defined 
estates,  in 
ed  a  coini- 
les.  They 
nd  General 

tb,iii  1030, 
igland.  It 
:3ongiis  M^ 
wc  patent, 


mentioned  licreafter  a«  granted  to  our  colony  of  Plymouth.  Besides  Rock- 
land and  Thomaston,  the  towns  of  IJelfast,  Camden,  Warren,  and  Waldohoro 
arc  u  ithin  its  former  bounds.  In  1710  the  ^[nseongus  grant  was  divided  for 
tlic  |.iiri.ose  of  settlement  into  ten  shares,  the  ten  proprietors  assigning  two- 
thirds  of  it  to  twenty  as- 
sociates, I  liave  examined 
the  si itf  black-letter  parch- 
iiu'nt  of  171!),  and  glanced 
at  its  p()m])ous  formalities. 
At  this  time  there  was  not 
a  liouse  between  George- 
town and  Annapolis,  ex- 
cept on  Damariscove  Isl- 
and.' 

The  Waldo   family  be- 
came   in   time    the    largest 
owners      of     the     patent. 
Samuel    Waldo,  the    brig- 
adier,   was     the  '  intimate 
[friend  of  Sir  William  I'e])- 
[])erell,  with  whom  he  had 
[served  at  Louisburg.  They 
[were  born  in  the  same  yeai", 
land  died  at  nearly  the  same 
Itiine.    Their  friendship  was 
Ito  liavo  perpetuated  itself 
Iby  a  match  between  llan- 
iiah,  the  brigadier's  daugh- 
ter, and  Andrew,  the  son  of  Sir  William,  ~After  a  deal  of  courtly  correspond- 
ence that  plainly  enough  foreshadows  the  bitter  disappointment  of  the  old 
jfriends,  Hannah  refused  to  marry  Andrew,  the  scape-grace.     In  six  weeks  slie 
rave  her  hand,  a  pretty  one,  'tis  said,  to  Thomas  Flucker,  and  with  it  went  a 
bice  large  slice  of  the  patent.      Flucker  became   the   l.ast  secretary,  under 
Icrown  rule,  of  ]Massachusetts.     He  decamped  with  his  friends  the  royalists,  in 
[1776,  but  his  daughter,  Lucy,  remained  behind,  for  she  had  given  lier  heart  to 
[Henry  Knox,  the  handsome  young  book-seller  of  colonial  Boston,  the  trusted 
{friend  whom  Washington  caressed  with  tears  when  parting  from  his  coin- 
[rades  of  the  deathless  little  army  of '70. 

The  old  l)rigadier  fell  dead  of  apoplexy  at  the  feet  of  Governor  Pownall, 
[while  in  the  act  of  pointing  o!it  to  him  the  boundary  of  his  lands.     3Irs. 
Knox,  the  artillerist's  wife,  inherited  a  portion  of  the  Waldo  patent,  and  her 


(ilCNKUAI-    lUiNKV    KNOX. 


*  Williamson's  "  History  of  Maine." 


62 


THE  NEW   ENGLAND  COAST. 


luisbftiul,  after  tlie  Kovolution,  acquired  tlia  rcsidiio  by  purdiaso.  Hero  his 
troubk's  boiiaii ;  but  1  can  not  enter  upon  llieni.  He  built  an  elegant  mansion 
at  Tliomaston,  wbich  ho  called  Montpeiier.'  The  house  has  been  deniolislud 
by  the  demands  of  the  railwaj',  for  which  one  of  its  outbuildings  now  serves 
as  a  station. 

General  Knox  involved  in  his  personal  difficulties  liis  old  comrade,  General 

Lincoln,  liiough  not  (piite  so  biidly  as 
]Mr,  Jelferson  would  nial<(!  it  appear 
in  his  letter  to  Jlr.  Madison,  in  which 
lie  says,  "He  took  in  (ieneral  l/m- 
coln  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  breaks  him."  Thv 
same  writer  has  also  recoided  iiis 
opinion  that  Knox  Avas  a  fool;  but 
the  resentments  of  Mr.  Jefl'erson  uro 
l':}  known  to  have  outrun  his  uiidci- 
standing.  Tiirongli  the  embarrass- 
ments incurred  by  his  friendsliip, 
General  Lincoln  became  interested 
in  the  Waldo  patent. 

Lincoln  was  about  five  feet  niiip, 
so  extremely  corpulent  as  to  seem 
much  shorter  than  he  really  was.  lie  wore  his  liair  unpowdered,  combed 
back  from  Ins  forehead,  and  gathered  in  a  long  cue.  He  liad  a  full,  round 
face,  light  complexion,  and  blue  eye  <.  His  dress  was  usually  a  blue  coat,  and 
buff  small-clothes.  An  enormous  cocked  hat,  as  indispensable  to  an  old  of- 
ficer of  the  Kevolution  as  to  the  Little  Corporal,  or  as  the  capital  to  the  Covin- 
tliian  column,  com|)leted  Ids  attire.  He  had  been  wounded  in  the  leg  in  the  i| 
battles  with  Burgoyne,  and  always  wore  boots  to  conceal  the  deformity,  as 
Knox  concealed  his  mutilated  liand  in  a  liandkerchief. 

This  old  soldier,  Lincoln,  who  had  passed  very  creditably  through  the 
Revolution,  was,  like  the  fat  boy  in  "Pickwick,"  afHicted  with  somnolency. 
Li  the  old  Hingham  church,  in  conversation  at  table,  and  it  is  aftirmed  also 
while  driving  himself  in  a  chaise,  he  would  fall  sound  asleep.  During  his 
campaign  against  Shays  and  the  JMassachusetts  insurgents  of  1  78(5,  he  snored 
and  dictated  between  sentences.  He  considered  this  an  infirmity,  and  his 
friends  never  ventured  to  speak  to  him  of  it. 

Anotlier  charming  picture  is  the  api)roach  to  the  Cam(b'n  Hills.  I  saw 
their  summits  peering  above  fog -drifts,  flung  like  scarfs  of  gossamer  across 
their  breasts.  Heavier  masses  sailed  along  the  valleys,  presenting  a  series 
of  ever- sliifting,  ever- dissolving  views,  dim  and  mysterious,  with  transient 


OENEUAL  BENJAMIN  LINCOLN. 


'  Jefl'eison  liiid  his  \rontic'ello,  Wasliiiigton  his  Mount  Vernon. 


CASTINK. 


63 


Hero  Ms 

Ht  lIlilMsioil 

IcIllolisluMl 

now  servt'u 

lc>,  Goiu'ial 
so  badly  as 

'    it.    !llt))('Ul' 

111,  ill  whicli 

.'iicral    Lin- 

titty  llioii- 

him'."  The 

cordc'il    liis 

[I  fool ;  bill 

.'rt'crson  iivo 

his    uiidi'i- 

t'lnbairass- 

fric'iidshi|), 

!    iutert'sU'd 

•e  foot  uiiip, 

as  to  K'oiii 

I'd,  combed 

I'ull,  round 

le  coat,  and 

an  old  of- 

the  Coriii- 

U'fj  in  tlie 

'Ibrmity,  as 

iroiiLrh  tlic 
oiiiiiok'iicy, 
Hrnu'd  alsn 
During  lii^ 
5,  he  snored 
ty,  and  his 

Is.  T  s;iw 
liner  acn'ss 
ii<4'  a  series 
h  transient 


glimpses  of  chureh-spires  and  while  cottages,  or  of  the  tops  of  trees  curiously 
slvirtiiig  a  fog -bank.  Sometimes  you  caught  the  warm  color  ol'  the  new- 
mown  hill-sides,  or  tlie  outlines  of  nearer  and  greener  swells.  These  hills  are 
a  noted  landmark  for  seamen,  and  tlie  last  object  visible  at  sea  in  leaving  the 
IViiobscot.  The  highest  of  the  ."\k'guntico(  K  peaks  rises  more  than  Iburteeii 
hundred  feet,  commanding  an  unsurpassed  view  of  the  bay. 

After  touching  at  Camden,  the  steamer  continued  her  voyage.  The  ge- 
nial warmth  of  tlie  sun,  with  the  beauty  of  the  ])anorama  unrolled  before 
lliein,  had  brought  the  passengers  to  the  deck  to  gaze  and  admire.  I  chanced 
on  one  family  group  ni.'iking  a  lunch  otf  a  dry -salted  fish  and  cr.ackers,  the 
females  eating  wilii  good  appetites.  Near  by  was  a  (xerman,  breakfasting  on 
:i  hard-boiled  egg  and  a  thick  slice  of  black  bread.  j\Iy  own  compatriots  pre- 
ferred the  most  indigestible  of  pies  and  tarts,  with  \wi\,-mitii  d  discretion.  Ilel- 
iis  of  these  repasts  were  scattered  about  the  decks.  The  good-liumor  and 
jnllity  that  had  returned  with  !i  few  rays  of  sunshine  led  nie  to  think  on  tlie 
(Irpicssion  caused  by  tiie  long  jiig.its  of  an  Arctic  winte:-,  as  related  by  Frank- 
lin, Parry,  Kane,  and  Hayes,  i^  gieeting  to  the  sun  !  May  he  never  cease  to 
hi  I  ill*'  where  I  walk  or  lie  ! 

Driving  her  sharp  prow  onwan,,  the  boat  soon  entered  Belfast  Ray.    IMany 
essels,  some  of  tlieni 

illy  rigged   for  sea,  " '"  '        •'-;*"''"'■:■- :;i^^--^-    "'W^' 

•Mere    on    the    stocks  =^^'- 

|in  the  ship- yards  of 
JUia-t.  The  Duke 
ol  Kochefbiicauld  Li- 
fi'Mourt,  during  his 
A  -it  in  179V,  noticed 
tl  111  some  houses  were 
piiuted.  The  town 
tlicii  contained  the  only  church  in  the  Widdo  i)atent.  As  might  be  inferred 
tlie  ii;ime  is  from  Belfast,  Ireland  !' 

The  bay  begins  to  contract  above  Camden,  bringing  its  shores  within  the 
rieaiiiiig  of  a  noble  river.  Indeed,  as  far  as  I  ascended  it,  the  Penobs(!ot  will 
vn\  lose  by  comparison  with  the  Hudson.  The  river  is  considered  to  begin 
:u  Fort  Point,  the  site  of  Governor  Pownall's  fort.  Above  the  flow  of  tide- 
■w.iier  its  volume  decreases,  for  the  Penobscot  does  not  drain  an  e.vtensive 
V'  -ion  like  the  St.  Lawrence,  nor  has  it  such  a  reservoir  at  its  source  as  the 
1\'  iiiiebec.     At  Orphan  Island  the  river  divides  into  two  channels,  makiiH-- 


'  Its  Indian  name  was  Passageewakeag— "  the  place  of  sijjlits,  or  ghosts."  It  contained  origi- 
fiallyone  tiiousand  acres,  wiiich  tiie  settlers  boiiglit  of  tiie  heiis  of  Hiigadier  Wahio  at  two  shillings 
Ihe  acre.  Belfast  was  the  liist  in.-oiponited  town  on  the  Penobscot.  It  sutfered  severely  in  the 
Kuvoluiion  from  the  British  gairison  of  Castine. 


64 


TlIK  NEW  ENGLAND  CUAST. 


H  narrow  jinss  of  cxtromc  hcaiity  and  pictiirrsqiionoss  botwoon  tlio  island  Mini 
llie  wi'Hlern  slioro.  Nowlicrc  clsi',  i'.\('c'|»t  in  liic  Vineyard  Sonnd,  liavo  I  scm 
Pncli  a  inovonK'nt  of  sliijipinL?  as  Iilmv,  A  tteet  of  (toasters  wore  standing  win^' 
and  wing  tlirongh  the  Narrows.  Tow-boats,  dragging  as  many  as  a  do/.di 
heavy-laden  lunibernien  ontward-bonnd,  came  puffing  down  the  stream.  A- 
they  entered  the  broad  reach  near  Fort  Point,  one  vessel  after  another  hoist- 
ed sail  and  dashed  down  the  bay.  The  Narrows  are  commanded  by  Fnit 
Knox,  opposite  IJiicksport.' 

In  coining  out  of  IJelfast  we  approached  Ibigadier's  Island,  from  whicli 
the  forest  had  wholly  lisajtpeared.  (ieiieral  Knox,  whose  patent  covered  all 
islands  within  three  miles  of  the  shore,  offered  three  thousand  dolls  rs  to  tlic 
seven  fanners  who  then  occnpied  it,  in  land  and  ready  money,  to  relinquish 
their  posses  on.  Vessels  were  formerly  built  on  the  island,  and  it  was  tii- 
mows  for  its  pleiitifid  siii)plies  of  salmon.  In  old  times  a  family  usually  t(.(ik 
from  ten  to  sixty  barrels  in  a  season,  which  brought  in  market  eight  dollars 
the  barrel.  The  iish  were  speared  or  taken  in  nets.  Owners  of  juttiin; 
points  made  great  captures. 

The  sln)res  of  the  river  are  seen  fringed  with  weirs.  Salmon,  shad,  ale- 
wives,  and  smelts  are  taken  in  ]»roper  season,  the  crops  of  the  sea  sticeeediii;; 
each  other  with  the  same  certainty  as  those  of  the  land.  J>efore  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century  salmon  had  ceased  to  be  numerous.  Their  scarcity  was 
imputed  to  tlie  Penobscot  Indians,  who  destroyed  them  by  fishing  every  day 
in  the  yeai*,  including  Sundays,  This  king  among  fishes  formerly  frequented 
the  Kennebec,  the  Merrimac,  and  were  even  taken  in  Ipswich  Kiver,  and  the 
snuill  streams  flowing  into  ^lassachusetls  IJay. 

From  lielfast  I  crossed  the  bay  by  Islesboro  to  Castine.  I  confess  I  look- 
ed upon  this  famous  peninsula,  crowned  with  a  fortress,  furrowed  with  the  in- 
trenchments  of  forgotten  wars,  deserted  by  a  commerce  once  considerable,  lit- 
tle frequented  by  the  present  generation,  with  an  interest,  hardly  inferior  to 
tliat  stinnilated  by  the  associations  of  any  spot  of  ground  in  New  England. 

The  ])eninsnla  of  Castine  presents  to  view  two  eminences  with  r('<;ii' 
lar  outlines,  of  which  the  westernmost  is  the  most  commanding.  Both  are 
smoothly  rounded,  an<l  have  steep  though  not  difticult  ascents.  The  present 
town  is  built  along  the  base  and  climbs  the  declivity  of  the  eastern  hill,  its 
principal  street  conducting  from  the  water  straight  up  to  its  crest,  surmount- 
ed by  the  still  solid  ranqjarts  of  Fort  George.  The  long  occupation  of  the 
peninsula  has  nearly  denuded  it  of  trees.  Its  external  aspects  belong  ratlier 
to  the  milder  types  of  inland  scenery  than  to  the  rugged  gi-andeur  of  the  near 
sea-coast. 

Passing  by  a  bold  promontory,  on  which  the  light-tower  stands,  the  tide 


*  In  1797  there  were  twenty  vessels  owned  in  I'enobscot  Kiver,  two  of  \vliich  were  in  Euro- 
pean trade. 


(!AS'riNK 


e5 


iVss  I  look- 
with  the  in- 

(■r.ible,lit- 

interior  to 
Englaiul. 
with  rogu- 

Both  are 
The  present  | 
tern  hill,  its 
t,  nunnouut- 
ition  of  the 
.'loii.o;  viitlit'i'  '9 

of  the  near 


Lis,  the  tide 


*; 


were  m 


I'.iirii- 


caiTies 


you  swiftly  through  the  Narrows  to  tlie  ntichorajTO  before  the  town 


Ships  of  liny  class  may 


he  earrietl  into  C'astine,  while  its  adjiioeiit  waten 


would  furnish  snug  harbors  f(.r  fleets.     You  havo  seen,  as   you   ulided   by 

the  shores,  traces,  more  or  less  distinct,  of  the  sovereignty  of  Louis  XIV.,  of 

jcu'orge  III.,  and  of  the  republic  of  the  Tnited  States.     Puritans  an<l  Jesuits, 

Huguenots  and  Papists,  kings  and  conunoiis,  have  all  schenu'd  and  striven  for 


:tl 


10    l)t)SSl'SSlOU    o 


f  thi 


s  little  corner  o 


f  land.     Kiehelieu,  ]Mazarin,  and  Colbert 


liave  plotted  for  it;  Thurloe,  Clarendon,  and  Uolingbroke  havo  counter-jjlot- 
[t('<l.     It  lias  been  fought  over  no  end  of  tinies,  eon(pU're<l  and  reconquered, 

lud  is  now  of  no  more  political  coiisecpienco  than  the  distant  peak  of  Ka- 
Itahdin. 

There  is  very  little  appearance  of  business  about  Castine.     It  is  delight- 


full 


y  lethargic.     lU'w  old  hou 


(1  h 


1S( 


s  of  earlier  date  than  the  devolution  remain 


give  the  place  a  character  of  aiiti(piity  couforinable  with  its  history.  Nev- 
jrtheless,  thore  are  p!(  asant  mansions,  and  cool,  well-shaded  by-ways,  quiet 
ind  still,  in  which  the  echo  of  your  own  footfall  is  the  only  audible  sound, 
lie  peninsnla,  whii'h  the  inliabitants  call  the  "Neck,"  in  distinction  from  the 
laiger  fraction  of  the  town,  is  of  small  extent.  Vou  may  ramble  all  over  it  in 
Ml  afternoon.' 

If  it  is  a  good  maxim  to  sleep  on  a  weighty  matter,  so  it  is  well  to  dine 
|)efore  forming  a  judgment  of  a  place  you  are  visiting  for  the  iirst  time. 
Laving  broken  bread  and  tasted  salt,  you  believe  yourself  to  have  acquiri'd 
)me  of  the  rights  of  citizenship;  and  if  you  have  dined  well,  are  not  indis- 
)sed  to  regard  all  you  may  see  with  a  genial  and  not  too  critical  an  eye. 
Ipou  tills  conviction  I  acted. 

At  tile  tavern,  the  speech  of  the  girl  who  waited  on  the  table  was  impeded 
the  gum  she  was  chewing.  While  she  was  repeating  the  c(ifte,th(i  only 
[olds  I  was  able  to  distinguish  were,  "Haw  iish  and  clams."  As  I  am  not 
utial  to  either,  I  admit  I  was  a  little  disconcerted,  until  a  young  man  at  my 
ellM)\v  interpreted,  .s'c»^/o  voce,  the  jargon  into  "Corned  iish  and  roast  lamb." 
At  intervals  in  tiie  repast,  the  waiting -girl  would  run  into  the  parlor  and 
beat  the  keys  of  the  piano,  until  recalled  by  energetic  pounding  upon  the 
table  with  the  haft  of  a  knife.  Below  stairs  I  was  present  at  a  friendly  al- 
teicatioii  between  the  landlord  and  maid  of  all  work,  as  to  whether  the  towel 
for  common  use  had  been  hanging  a  week  or  only  six  days.  J>ut  "travelers," 
gays  Touchstone,  "must  be  content;"  and  he  was  no  fool  though  lie  wore 
motley. 

I  ascended  the  hill  above  the  town  on  which  the  Normal  School  is  situ 
ated,  and  in  a  few  moments  stood  on  the  parapet  of  Fort  George.     And  per- 
-haps  in  no  part  of  New  England  can  a  more  beautiful  and  extensive  view  be 
hail  with  so  little  trouble.     It  was  simply  enchanting.     Such  a  combination 

'  Tlie  upper  and  larger  part  is  called  North  Castine. 


P 


66 


THK  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


of  land  ami  water  is  soliloiii  ciiibraced  within  a  siiii^lo  coup  iVcell.  Tlu>  vis- 
ion is  bonnded  by  those  ))ortals  of  the  bay,  tlie  Camden  range  on  tlie  soiui,. 
west,  and  the  lieiglits  of  ^^lount  Desert  in  tlie  east.  A  little  north  of  east  i- 
the  solitary  l>Ine  llill,  witli  llie  windings  and  broad  reaches  of  wati'r  by  wliiri, 
Castine  proper  is  nearly  isolated  from  the  main-land.  Tnrning  still  northwani. 
an<l  now  with  your  back  to  the  town,  you  perceive  Old  Fort  I'oinl,  where,!; 
1759,  Governor  Pownall  built  a  work  to  command  the  entrance  to  the  rivd. 
Farther  to  the  westward  is  Brigadier's  Island,  and  the  bay  expanding  liiiv 
leaofuos  over  to  lU'Ifast. 


vn:w  I'KOM  I'ouT  (ii-.oiuii:. 


Fort  Cleorge,  a  s(piare,  bastioned  woi'k,  is  the  best  ])reserved  earth-woiki: 
its  years  in  New  England.  A  \'<i\\  hours  would  ])ut  it  in  a  vi'ry  tolerable  ci! 
dition  of  defense.  The  moat,  excavated  down  to  the  solid  rock,  is  intact  ;  li 
esplanade  hardly  broken  in  outline.  The  j)Osition  (if  the  barracks,  nniga/.iip, 
and  guard-house  may  be  easily  traced  on  the  parade,  though  no  bu'iMiii.- 
now  renniin  inside  'he  ibrtress.  The  approach  on  thire  sides  is  by  a  sliij 
ascent;  cs]iecially  is  this  the  case  on  the  side  of  the  town.  Each  bastion  wii- 
pierced  with  four  embrasures.  The  position  was  of  gi'eat  strength,  and  \\o\\\\ 
have  been  an  ugly  place  to  carry  by  escahuh?.  \  matter  of  a  i'l^w  hours  'ii;o 
determined  the  ownership  of  Castine  for  England  or  the  Colonies  in  arms. 

Now  let  us  take  a  walk  over  to  the  more  elevated  summit  Avest  of  fm! 
(ieorge.  Here  are  also  evidences  of  military  occupation  in  fast-perishin<j,'  ciii- 
banknients  and  heaps  of  beach  pebbles.  "What  are  left  of  the  lines  look  dvci 
toward  the  English  fort  and  the  cove  between  it  and  the  mam-land.  A 
broad,  level  plateau  of  greens wai'd  extends  between  the  two  summits,  ovu 
wliicli  neither  you  nor  I  would  have  liked  to  walk  in  the  teeth  of  ratiliii: 
volleys  of  musketry.      Vet  such  things  have  been  on  this  very  hill-top. 

The  story  of  these  Ibrtitications  is  drawn  fi'oni  one  of  the  most  disgracciiii 
chapters  of  the  Kevolutionary  war.  It  is  of  a  well- conceived  enter|iriM 
•  brought  to  a  disastrous  issue  through  incapacity,  discord,  ami  blunderin:: 
There  afe  no  longer  susceptibilities  to  be  wounded  by  the  relation,  tiu)Ui;ii 
for  ninny  yeai's  after  the  event  it  was  seldom  spoken  of  save  with  niiii- 
gled  shame  and  indignation.  Eittle  enough  is  said  of  it  in  the  newsp:iiK^r> 
of  the  tiuii',  for  it  was  a  terrible  blow  to  ^Massachusetts  pride,  and  sliiick 
liotne. 


II.  Tlu-  vis. 
II  the  soutli- 
ill  of  cast  h 
Lit  by  whieli 
1  north  w  aid, 

III,  whtTc,  il. 
to  tlie  rivui. 
Hiding  thru 


tASTINE. 


G7 


'arth-workofl 

Lolcriiblu  coii-l 

is  intact ;  tiici 

ks,  niaij;a/.ii 

no  builtliiij;*! 

s  by  a  sU'tj 

1  bastion  \v;i- 

,1),  and  wouU 

iV  honrs  iMiw 

in  arms. 

west  ot"  Knit 

ci'ishint;'  I'lii- 

i 

CS  l()ol\   llVt'l' 

iH-land.  A, 
nunits,  ovirj 
|i  of  ranliii:.''. 
-lop. 

dis'uraccl 
il   cnlcr|irisL' 
bhindcriiii;.; 

ion,  thou«.'li{ 
witli   Miiii- 
Inowspaiiois  j 
laud  struck 


Tn  .Tune,  1T79,  Colonel  Francis  M'Lean  was  sent  from  Halifax  with  nine 
hundred  men  to  seize  and  fortify  the  peninsula,  then  generally  known  as 
I'cMoliscol,'      He    lauded 


^  ■c>^'-Vi^;»5^  'W^KN^iN 


.   on  the  liith  of  June,  and 
*  with  the  energy  and  de- 
i  cision  of  a  good   soldier 
licgaii  the  work  of  estab- 
lishing himself  firmly  in 
Ills  position. 

In   the    l>i'itish    ranks 
was  one  notable  combat- 
I  ant,  Captain  John  Moore, 
of  the  Fifty-first  loot,  who 
fell  under  the  walls  of  Co- 
niiina  while  coininandiiig 
itlie  Mritisii  army  in  S[)aiii. 
Vs  his  military  career  be- 
an   ill    America,  I    may 
arrate  an  incident  illus- 
I'ating     his     remarkable 
(Opiilarity    with    his   sol- 
liers.  Ill  lTn!»,atEgmont- 
p-/,ee, the  Ninety-second 
cicely  charged  a  French 

jri'jade.  A  terrilic  U)lh''e  ensued,  in  which  the  French  were  forced  to  retreat, 
n  the  midst  ol'tlie  combat  two  soldiers  of  th(>  Xin.-ty-second  discovered  Gen- 
ral  ^loore  lying  on  his  face,  apparently  (h';id  ;  Ibr  he  was  woundi'd  and  nncon- 
cioiis.  "Here  is  tiie  general;  let  us  take  him  away,"  said  one  of  them,  and, 
iiitiiig  the  action  to  the  word,  they  bore  him  to  the  rear.  The  general  oflor- 
id  a  reward  of  twenty  pounds;  but  could  never  disc(ner  either  of  the  sol- 
iers  who  had  aided  him.  ]Moore's  d<'ath  inspired  WoUe's  admired  lines, 
renounced  by  Lord  Byron  "  the  most  perfect  ode  in  the  language:" 

'"Not  a  (Inim  Wiis  heard,  not  a  riineral  note, 
As  liis  i'()r]iso  to  the  limipart  we  hmried; 
Not  ft  solilier  ilischargwl  liis  fiiifwi'll  .-hot 
O'er  the  grave  wliere  our  hero  we  l)urieil."' 

"Moore,"  said  Xapoleoti,  "was  a  brave  soldier,  an  excellent  otticer,  and  a 
|nan  of  talcn'.  He  made  a  few  mistakes,  inseparable,  p«'rhaps,  from  tiie  ditfi- 
jiillies  with  which  he  was  surrounded."     IJeing  reminded  that  Moore  was  al- 


SlU  .lOllN    -MOOUE. 


'  Pastine  was  not  incorporated  nnder  its  present  iiuine  until  I7!Mi,     The  Indian  name  of  th^ 
pL'iiinsiihi  was  Bagaduee,  ur  iJiguvduee. 


68 


THK  >'EW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


lOUT  GIUFFITII. 


ways  in  tlie  front  of  battle,  nnd  pronorally  nnfortuTiato  cnonijli  to  be  wonncb  d, 
he  added,  "Ah  !  it  is  necessai-y  sometimes,  lie  died  gloriously;  he  died  like 
a  soldier." 

Great  alarm  was  ])rodncod  by  ^M'Lean's  bold  dash.  Immediate  applica- 
tion was  made  to  ^Massachusetts,  of  which  ^Maine  still  formed  a  part,  for  aid 

to  exjiel  the  invader. 
Hancock  was  tlun 
governor.  Gencnil 
(iates  commanded  tlu' 
Eastern  IH'partmcut. 
with  head-quarters  ;ii 
I'rovidence.  The^Mas- 
saehusctts  rulers  put 
their  heads  togetlii-r, 
and,  thinking  on  llu' 
brilliant  achievement  of  their  fathers  at  Lonisbnrg  in  1745,  resolved  to  em- 
ulate it.  Tliey  raised  a  large  land  and  naval  force  Mith  the  utmost  ex- 
pedition, laying  an  embargo  for  I'orty  days  in  order  to  nnm  their  Heet  willi 
sailors.  General  Gates  was  neither  consulted  nor  ai»plied  to  for  the  Con- 
tinental troops  under  his  orders.' 

Tlie  ^Massachusetts  armament  apjjcared  off  Penobscot  on  the  25th  of  July. 
The  army  was  commanded  by  Solomon  Lovell,  the  Heet  by  Captain  Saltmi- 
stall,  of  the  Waneu,  a  fine  new  Continental  frigate  of  thirty-two  guns.  IVK;,' 
Wadsworth  was  second  in  command  to  Lovell;  l*aul  Uevere,  whom  LongUi 
low  has  immortalized,  had  charge  of  the  ai'tillery.  The  land  forces  did  iwl 
number  more  tiian  twelve  hundred  men,  but  might  be  augmented  to  fiflciii 
liundred  or  more  with  marines  from  the  Heet.  These  troops  were  militi!i,  ami 
liad  only  once  j)araded  together  under  arms.  Tiie  flotilla  was  formidable  in 
appearance  and  in  the  number  of  guns  it  carried,  but  lacked  unity  and  ill- 
cipline  quite  as  much  as  the  army.  IMenty  of  courage  and  plenty  of  means 
do  not  make  soldiers  or  win  battles. 

]M'Lean  had  received  intelligence  of  the  sailing  of  the  Massachusetts  ai- 
mada.  His  fort  was  not  yet  capable  of  defense.  Two  bastions  were  not  Ik- 
gun;  tile  two  remaiinng,  with  tlii'  curtains,  had  not  been  raised  more  ilian 
four  or  five  feet,  and  he  liad  not  a  single  gun  mounted.  Captain  Mowati  of 
detestable  memory,"  with  three  JJritish  vessels  of  small  force,  was  in  the  liar 
bor.  He  took  a  position  to  prevent  a  landing  on  the  south  side  of  the  jxiiin- 
sula.  A  deep  trench  was  cut  across  the  isthmus  connecting  with  the  main- 
«land,  securing  that  ))assage.  No  landing  could  be  etfected  except  bematli 
the  precipice,  two  hundred  feet  high,  on  the  west.  jM'Lean  dispatched  a  iius- 
senger  to  Halifax,  and  redoubled  ids  eflbrts  to  strengthen  his  fort. 


'  Gordon,  vol.  iii.,  p.  'Mi. 


The  man  who  destroyed  Falmouth,  now  I'orthind. 


'    Tii'iiiiiiiiiiai' 


CASTINE. 


09 


ivonndcd, 
died  liko 

.^  app'lica- 
rt,  for  aid 
3  invatk'V. 

VIVS      tlll-'ll 

General 
laiuk'dllii-' 
.'pavtint'iit, 
[uartors  at 
..  Tlie^Nlas- 
rulers  put 
s  togetliei', 
iiig  on  till' 
vc'd  to  e in- 
utmost  ex- 
r  fleet  with 
)i'  the  Con- 

5tb  of  July, 
lain  Salltni- 
uns.     Vv\v': 
lu  Lonut'i;- 
■ces  did  iii'l 
Id  to  liftcc'i! 
militia,  and 
■midal)U'  i" 
ly  aud  ili«- 
y  of  nuaii^ 

•husetts  ar- 
;ere  not  !"• 

more  than 
iMowatl  ot 

in  the  lull 

If  the  ix'hIk- 

li  the  main 

|it  beiiralli 

•hed  a  im- 


Irortlund. 


On  tlie  third  day  after  their  arrival  tlie  Americans  succeeded  in  landinir, 
and,  after  a  oalhint  tight,  gained  the  heights.  This  action— an  augury,  it  would 
seem,  of  good  success  lO  the  assailants,  i'or  the  enemy  had  every  advantage 
(if  position  and  knowledge  of  the  ground — is  the  single  crumb  of  comfort  to 
he  drawn  from  the  annals  of  the  expedition.  Captain  Moore  was  in  this  af- 
fair. 

Instead  of  pursning  his  ad\  antage.  General  Lovell  took  a  position  within 
seven  huiulred  and  tif. 
ty   yards  of  the    ene- 
my's   works,  and    be- 
gan to  intiench.  Tliere 
was  fatal  disagreement 
between    the    general 
and  Saltonstall.     Tiie 
sum  of  the  matter  was 
that  Lovell, fearing  to 
attack   with  his  pres- 
lent  force,  sent  to  Bos- 
ton    for     re-eiifurce- 
nients.     Then  (ieneral 
(iales  was  applied  to 
i'l'V  help.      Two  weeks 
;]iassed  in  regular  ap- 
^n'caelu's    on    LovelPs 
piivl,  and  in  exertions 
b\    -M'Lean   to  render  his  fort  impregnable.     At  the  end   of  this  time.  Sir 
(itorge  Collier  arrived  from  New'  York  with  a  fleet,  and  rased  the  siege, 
(iciieral  Lovell  says  the  army  under  his  orders  had  very  short  notice  of  the 
arrival  of  this  force,  by  reason  of  a  fog  that  prevented  its  being  seen  until  its 
IK  ar  approach.     The  land  forces  succeeded  in  gaining  the  western  shore  of 
tlie  river  at  various  ])oints, but  had  then  to  make  their  way  througli  a  wilder- 
ness to  the  settleiiuMits  on  the  Kennebec.     The  fleet  of  Saltonstall  was  either 
destroyed  or  captured. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  complete  dispersion  of  the  ill-starred  Penobscot 
(  \pedition  that  General  I'eleg  Wadsworth  succeeded  in  entering  tlu'  liritish 
fill  on  the  hill  at  Hagadnce.     He  had  more  ditfienlty  in  leaving  it. 

After  the  disbanding  of  his  nulitia,  the  general  nuxde  his  quarters  at 
'i  lioniaston,  where  lie  lived  with  his  wife  in  apijarent  security.  A  young  lady 
I  lined  Fenno  and  a  guard  of  six  mililia-nu'u  completed  his  garrison.  Gen- 
eial  Campbell,  comnninding  at  Hagaduce,  was  well  informed  of  Wadsworth's 
ilefenseless  condition,  and  resolved  to  send  him  an  invitation  to  come  and  re- 
side in  the  fortress.  A  lieutenant  and  twenty-live  men  arrived  at  dead  of 
Mglit  with  the  message  at  AN'adsworth's  house.     The  sentinel  challenged  ami 


-^  "l  a!.. 


FOUT   liKOUlilC. 


^ 


70 


THE   NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


fled.  (Icrcr.il  AVadsworlh  (k'ti'iidod  lii  nselt' witli  Spartan  bravcrj',  Ariiicd 
with  a  hrac'L'  of  pistols,  a  f'lisoc,  and  a  blunderbuss,  lie  fought  liis  assailants 
away  from  his  windows  and  the  door,  through  which  they  had  followed  llic 
retreating  sentinel.  In  his  shirt,  with  his  bayonet  only,  he  disdained  to  yield 
I'or  some  time  longer,  until  a  shot  disabled  his  left  arm.  Then,  with  iivc  (ir 
SIX  men  lvin<j;  woiinde(l  around  him,  the  windows  shattered,  and  the  house  tm 
fire,  IVleg  Wadsworth  was  able  to  say,  "  I  surrender."  They  took  liim,  ex- 
hausted with  his  exertions  ami  benumbed  with  e()ld,to  the  fort,  where  he  was 
kept  close  prisoner.  Some  time  after,  Major  Burton,  xaIio  had  served  with  tlic 
general,  was  also  niade  prisoner,  and  lodged  in  the  same  room  with  him. 
Wadsworth  applied  for  a  parole.     It  wi.s  refused.     Governor  Hancock  sent 


a  cartel  with  an  offer  of  exehai 


iu;e. 


It  was  denied.     One  dav  he  was  visitcil 


l)y  ]\Iiss  Fenno,  who  in  five  words  gave  him  to  know  he  was  to  be  detaiiidl 
till  the  end  of  the  war.     Peieg  Wadsworlh  then  resolved  to  escape. 

The  piisoners  were  confined  in  a  room  of  the  oflicers'  (piarters,  the  mIh- 
dow  grated,  the  door  provided  with  a  sa>h,  thi'ough  which  the  sentinel,  cuii- 
stantly  on  duty  in  the  passage,  could  look  into  the  I'oom  as  he  ])aced  on  hi- 
round.  At  either  end  of  this  passage  was  a  door,  opening  upon  the  j)ar;i(li' 
of  the  fort,  at  which  other  sentinels  were  posted.  -c\.t  sunset  the  gates  wciv 
closed,  and  the  number  of  sentinels  on  the  parajiet  increased.  A  picket  \\a- 
also  stationed  at  the  narrow  isthmus  comiccting  with  the  main-laud. 

These  were  not  all  the  difficidlies  in  their  way.  Supposing  them  ahle  to 
pass  the  sentinels  in  the  passage  and  at  the  outer  door  of  their  quarters,  tlicy 
must  then  cross  the  open  space  and  ascend  the  wall  under  the  eye  of  the 
guai'ds  posted  on  the  paraju't.  Admitting  the  summit  of  tlic  rampart  gained. 
the  exterior  wall  was  defi'uded  with  strong  pickets  driven  obliquely  into  tin 
earthen  wall  of  the  fort.  From  this  point  was  a  sheer  descent  of  twenty  feet 
to  the  bottom  of  the  ditcdi.  Arrived  here,  the  fugitives  must  ascend  the  coiui- 
terscarp,  and  cross  the  chctudtx-de-fi'ise  with  which  it  was  furnished.  Tlicy 
were  then  without  the  fortress,  with  no  possible  means  of  gaining  their  fiec- 
dotn  except  by  water.  To  elude  the  picket  at  the  Neck  was  not  to  1h 
thought  of. 

The  prisoners'  room  was  ceiled  witli  pine  boards.  Upon  some  pretext 
they  procured  a  gimlet  of  a  servant,  with  which  they  jierforated  a  board  sd 
as  to  make  an  apertui'e  sufficiently  large  to  admit  the  body  of  a  man.  'I'lii' 
interstices  were  cut  through  with  a  jtenknife,  leaving  the  corners  intact  until 
the  moment  for  action  should  arrive.  They  then  filled  the  holes  with  ))read, 
and  careiully  removed  the  dust  from  the  floor.  This  work  had  to  be  exe- 
cuted while  the  sentinel  traversed  a  distance  ecjual  to  twice  the  depth  of  tluir 
own  room.  The  j)risoners  ])aced  their  floor,  kee]iing  step  with  the  sentiv; 
and  as  soon  as  he  had  passed  by,  Ibirton,  who  was  the  taller,  and  could  re  uli 
the  ceiling,  commenced  work,  while  Wailsworth  walked  on.  On  the  approach 
of  the  soldier  Burton  quickly  rejoined  his  companion.     Three  weeks  were  vc 


t 


•.     AviiU'd 
assailiuits 
lowed  tl)(' 
.>(!  to  yield 
ilh  tive  or 
0  house  (111 
k  liim,  i\- 
ore  lie  was 
1(1  with  the 
with  irnii. 
.ncock  sent 
was  visited 
)v  (k'taiiK'd 

L', 

rs,  tlie  will- 
Mitinol,  ('till- 
at'cd  on  111- 
the  i):iradi' 
Ljates  weir 
l)iek('t  wa- 
ul. 

liom  a1)U'  tii 

alters,  tlii-y 

eye  of  tin 

lart  gained. 

ly  into  till 

twenty  I'eet 

1(1  the  cciuii- 

led.      They 

their  iVee- 

not  to  he 

[mo  pretext 

a  board  >" 

man.     Tin 

jintaet  uiilil 

Iwith  bread. 

to  be  e\<- 

|l)th  oftlieir 

ihe  sentry: 

ronld  ri'acli 

[e  ajtproacli 

Iks  were  re 


:i 

Ml 

CI 


CASTINH.  71 

(jiiirod  to  execute  this  task.  Each  was  provided  with  a  blaid<et  and  a  stron<; 
staft;  sharpened  at  the  end.  For  food  tliey  kept  tlieir  crusts  and  dried  bits  of 
llieir  meat.  They  waited  until  one  night  when  a  violent  thunder-storm  swei)t 
over  the  peninsula.  It  became  intensely  dark.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents  upon 
the  roof  of  the  barracks.     The  moment  for  action  had  come. 

The  prisoners  undressed  themselves  as  usual,  and  went  to  bed,  observed 
by  the  sentinel.  They  then  extinguished  their  candle,  and  quickly  arose. 
Their  ])lan  was  to  gain  the  vacant  space  above  their  room,  creeping  along 
Ihe  joists  until  they  reached  the  passage  next  beyond,  which  they  knew  to 
be  unguarded.  Thence  they  were  to  nndie  their  way  to  the  north  bastion, 
acting  as  circumstances  might  determine. 

Hurton  was  tlu;  first  to  pass  through  the  opening.     lie  had  advanced  but 
a  little  way  before  he  encoiiiitered  a  tlock  of  fowls,  whose  roost  he  had  in- 
vaded.    AVadsworth  listened  with  breathless  anxiety  to   the   cackling   that 
pprised  him  for  the  first  time  of  this  new  danger.     At  length  it  ceased  with- 
it  having  attracted  the  attention  of  the  guards,  and  the  general  with  diffi- 
ilty  ascended  in  his  turn.     He  passed  over  the  distance  to  the  gallery  un- 
Mcilieeil,  and  gaiiu'd  the  outside  by  the  door  that  l>urton  had  left  opi-n.     Fetd- 
iii'^-  his  way  along  the  wall  of  the  barracks  to  the  western  side,  he  made  a 
ludd  ])ush  for  the  embankment,  gaining  the  rampart  by  an  obli(jiie  path.     At 
this  moment  the  door  of  the  guard-house  was  Hung  open,  and  a  voice  ex- 
(  laimed, "  Ivelief,  turn  out !"    Fortunately  the  guard  ptissed  without  seeing  the 
liigitive.      lie  reached  the  bastion  agreed  upon  as  a  rendezvous,  but  Burton 
was  not  there.     No  time  was  to  be  lost.     Securing  his  blanket  to  a  picket, 
he  lowered  himself  as  far  as  it  would  permit,  and  (lrop])ed  without  accident 
■iito  the  ditch.     From  here  he  passed  softly  out  by  the   water-course,  and 
1(1(1(1  in  the  open  air  without  the  fort.     It  being  low  tide,  the  general  waded 
I  lie  cove  to  the  nmin-land,  and  made  the  best  of  his  way  up  the  river.     In  the 
iimriiing  he  was  rejoined  by  his  companion,  and  both,  after  exertions  that  ex- 
iii  ted  all  their  fo' titude,  gained  the  opposite  shoiv  of  the  Penobscot  in  safety. 
Their  evasion  is  like  a  romance  of  the  IJastile  in  the  day  of  ]{i(dielien. 

The  gallant  old  general  removed  to  Falmouth,  now  PcnMland,  One  of  liis 
-iius,  an  intrepid  spirit,  was  killed  by  the  explosion  of  a  fire-ship  before  Trip- 
oli, in  which  he  was  a  volunteer.  .V  daughter  married  lion.  Stephen  Long- 
!i  How,  of  Portland,  father  of  the  poet. 

AVIien  tie  corps  (Vannee  of  llochainbeau  Avas  at  Newport,  the  French 
-ciieral  coiieeived  the  idea  of  sending  an  expedition  to  recapture  Peiiob- 
■eot,  and  sidieited  the  consent  of  Washington  to  do  so.  The  Fi'cnch  oflicers 
much  preferred  acting  on  an  iudejiendent  line.  I>ut  the  proposal  was  wisely 
negatived  by  the  connuander  in  chief.  The  man  to  whom  Pochambeau  ex- 
jceted  to  intrust  the  naval  operations  M'as  La  Peyrouse,  the  distinguished 
!'Ut  ill-fated  navigator. 

Other  earth-works  besides  those  already  mentioned  may  bo  traced.     Two 


:^ai 


THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


small  batteries  that  guanled 
tiiict.     Sunio  of  tliose  works 
tine  by  the  Bi-ilish  in  1812. 
more  recent  <late. 

A   speaking   remiiulor  of 
grc'onsward  under  the  walls 
girls  were  wont  to  make  a 
Never  before  had  it  been  so 
fumed  billet-doux  do  more 
point-blank,  might  etlect. 


the  approaches  on  tlie  side  of  the  cove  are  dis- 

were  renovated  during  the  reoccupation  of  Cas- 

Others  seen  on  the  shores  of  the  harbor  are  of 

by -gone  strife  is  an  old  cannon,  lying  on  iho 
of  Fort  George,  of  whose  grim  muzzle  schonl- 
])Ost- office.  There  was  poetry  in  the  conceit, 
delicately  charged,  though  I  have  known  a  pcr- 
damage  than  this  fellow,  double-shotted  and  at 


••'.•f.->-.-? -'1  ^  ■ 


UUINS  OF   I'OUT   I'liNTACiOiiT,  CASTINE. 


CHAPTER  y. 

CASTINE — continiu'd. 

''Union  Cnsliiie  of  St.  ('a.stino 
Has  li'l't  Iiis  cliilteaii  in  tlie  Pvccnce?, 
And  !«:iilecl  across  the  western  seas.'' 

LONGIKM.OW. 

CONFESS  I  would  ratlu'V  stand  in  presence  of  the  Pyramids,  or  walk  in 
the  streets  ot"  buried  Pompeii,  than  assist  at  the  un\vrap|)iiig  of  many  Hesh- 
ss  bodies.  No  other  medium  than  the  material  eye  eau  grasp  a  fact  with 
jhe  same  distinctness,  Tt  becomes  roi)Led,atid  you  may  liang  your  legends  or 
raditions  on  its  branches.  It  is  true  there  is  a  <'lass  who  journey  from  Dan 
I  IJeersheba,  finding  all  barren  ;  but  the  average  American,  though  far  from 
,ia)ipreciative,  too  often  makes  a  business  of  his  recreation,  and  devours  in 
li  hour  what  might  be  viewed  with  advantage  in  a  week  or  a  month. 

After  this  frank  declaration,  the  reader  will  not  expect  me  to  hurry  him 
irough  a  place  that  contains  so  much  ol'tlie  crust  of  antiqinty  as  Castine, 
jid  is  linked  in  with  the  Old-world  chronicles  of  a  period  of  surpassing  in- 
[rest,  both  in  history  and  romance. 

Very  little  of  the  fort  of  the  Baron  Cast  in  and  his  predecessors,  yet 
bough  to  reward  the  research  of  the  stranger,  is  to  be  seen  on  the  margin  of 
be  shore  of  the  harbor,  less  than  half  a  mile  iVom  the  central  portion  of  the 
Iwn.  The  grass-grown  ramparts  have  suidv  too  low  to  be  distinguished  from 
be  water  in  passing,  but  are  evident  to  a  person  standing  on  the  ground  it- 
lit.  Not  many  years  will  elapse  before  these  indistinct  traces  arc  wholly 
^iterated.' 
The  bank  here  is  not  much  elevated  above  high-water  mark,  while  at  the 
larves  it  rises  to  a  higher  level,  and  is  ascended  by  stairs.    The  old  fort  was 


'  In  17.W  Governor  Pownall  took  possession  of  the  peninsula  of  Castine,  and  hoisted  the  En- 
tli  fiat;  on  the  fort.    IIo  found  the  Bettlement  deserted  and  in  ruins.— troi.'.  I'ownall'b  Journal. 


THE   NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


placed  near  tlio  narrowest  ]iart  of  tlie  liarbor,  with  a  linn  pebbly  beaeh  befuix' 
it.  Small  boats  may  laiul  direetly  uinler  the  walls  of  the  work  at  liiixli  tide, 
or  lie  protected  by  the  curvature  of  the  shore  from  the  heavy  seas  rollinn'  in 
from  the  outer  harbor.  The  high  hills  over  which  we  were  rambling'  in  tiic 
l)receding  eliapter  ward  ott"  the  northern  winds. 

A  jtortion  of  the  ground  covered  by  old  Fort  Pentagoet  is  now  occu)»i('(l 
by  buildings,  a  barn  standing  within  the  circumvallati(Mi,  and  the  dwellinif 
of  Mr.  Webb  between  the  shore  and  the  road.  A  little  stream  of  sweet  water 
trickles  along  the  south-west  face  ol"  the  work,  and  then  loses  itself  among 
the  pebbles  of  the  beach. 

Fort  Pentagoet,  at  its  rendition  by  Sir  Thomas  Temple,  in  lOTO,  after  tlic 
treaty  of  IJreda,  was  a  rectangular  work  with  four  bastions.  The  height  ot" 
the  curtains  within  was  eight  feet.  On  entering  the  fort  a  corpi^  dc  f/<ir(h\ 
twelve  paces  long  and  six  broad,  stood  at  the  lei't,  with  a  lo(/(s,  or  (juarter,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  entrance.  On  the  left  side  were  also  two  store-houses, 
each  thirty-six  paces  long  by  twelve  in  breadth,  covered  with  shingles.  Fii- 
derneath  the  store-houses  was  a  cellar  of  about  lialf  their  extent,  in  which  ,i 
well  liad  been  sunk.  vVbove  the  entrance  was  a  turret,  built  of  timber,  plas- 
tered with  clay,  and  furnished  with  a  bell.  At  the  right  hand  was  a  barrack 
of  the  same  length  and  breadth  as  the  store-houses,  and  built  of  stone.  Sixty 
paces  from  the  fort  was  a  caliiu  of  planks,  in  which  the  cattle  were  housed; 
and  at  some  distance  farther  was  a  garden  in  good  coiulition,  having  IVuil- 
trees.  There  were  mounted  on  the  ramparts  six  six-jjounder  and  two  llnn- 
ponnder  iron  cannon,  with  two  eulverins.  Six  other  ))ieces  M'ere  lying,  useless 
and  dismounted,  on  the  parapet.  Overlooking  the  sea  and  detached  from  the 
Jbrt  was  a  platform,  witli  two  iron  eight-pounders  in  position. 

The  occupant  of  the  nearest  house  told  me  an  oven  eonsli-ucted  of  flat 
slate-stones  was  diseovered  in  an  angle  of  the  work;  also  that  shot  had  been 
picked  u|>  on  the  beach,  and  a  tomahawk  and  stone  pipe  taken  from  the  well. 
The  whole  ground  has  been  exj)l()red  with  the  divining-rod,  as  well  witliiii 
as  without  the  fort,  for  treasure-trove;  though  little  or  nothing  rewarded 
the  search,  except  the  discovery  of  a  subterranean  passage  opening  at  the 
shore. 

These  examinations  wore  no  doubt  whetted  by  an  extraordinary  jiiece  <>( 
good  luck  that  bei'ell  fartnor  Stephen  Grindle,  while  hauling  wood  from  ii 
rocky  hill-side  on  the  point  at  the  second  narrows  of  IJagaduce  Kiver,  about 
six  miles  from  Castine  peninsula.  In  1 840  this  worthy  husbandman  saw  a  shin- 
ing object  lying  in  the  track  of  his  oxen.  He  stooped  and  ))ieked  uj)  a  silver 
coin,  as  bright  as  if  struck  within  a  twelvemonth.  On  looking  at  the  date,  he 
found  it  to  be  two  hundred  years  old.  Farther  search  was  rewarded  by  llic 
discovery  of  several  other  pieces.  A  fall  of  snow  interrupted  the  farmer's  in- 
vestigations until  the  next  spring,  when,  in  or  near  an  old  trail  leading  across 
the  point,  frequented  by  the  Indians  from  immemorial  time,  some  seven  hnn- 


CASTINE. 


75 


.Iivd  coins  of  the  nominal  vjiliio  of  four  liundrcd  dollars  wore  uncartlied  near 
the  surt'ace.     All  the  pieces  were  of  »*ilvt'r. 

Tlie  lioncst  fanner  kept  liis  own  counsel,  usin<]f  liis  treasure  from  time  to 
tiiiu'  to  pay  liis  store  bills  in  the  town,  dollar 
t(ir  dollar,  aeeoniitin«j'  one  of  Master  llnlTs 


)iii('-tree  sli 


illinii^ 


at  a  shillii) 


T\ 


le  store- 


keepers readily  accepted  the  exchaiiue  at 
tlie  farmer's  valuation;  hut  the  ])Ossession 
ol'siieh  a  ])rieeless  collection  was  soon  betray- 
ed by  its  circulation  abroad. 

Dr.  .Iosei»h  L.  Stevens,  the  esteemed  aiiti(]uary  of  ("astine,  of  whom  I  had 
these  ]t!irticulars,  exhibited  to  me  a  number  of  the  coins.  They  would  have 
]na(U'  a  numismatist's  month  watt'r.  French  ecus,  Portuguese  and  Spanish 
pieeos-of-eiLiht,  Bremen  tloUars,  piasters,  and  cob-money,'  clipped  and  battered, 
with  illegible  dates,  but  melodious  rinir,  chinked  in  better  fellowship  than  the 
sovereigns  whose  effigies  they  bore  had  lived  in.  A  single  gold  coin,  the  only 
one  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Castine,  was  picked  up  on  the  beach  oppo- 
site tlie  foi't." 

The  theory  of  the  ])resence  of  so  large  a  sum  on  the  spot  wlierc  it  "was 
found  is  that  when  C'astin  was  driven  from  the  fort  by  Colonel  Church,  in 
1704,  these  coins  were  left  by  some  of  his  party  in  their  retreat,  where  they 
remained  imdiscovered  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  quartei'.  Or  it  may 
have  been  the  hoard  of  one  of  the  two  countrymen  of  Castin,  who,  he  says, 
were  living  two  miles  from  him  in  1087. 

'file  detail  of  old  Fort  I'eutagoet  just  given  is  Lolieved  to  describe  the 
jdace  as  it  had  existed  since  1051,  when  captured  by  the  colony  forces  of  ]Mas- 
saeluisctts.  General  Sedgwick  then  spoke  of  it  as  "a  small  li>rt,  yet  very 
suonix,  and  a  very  well  composed  peese,  with  eight  peese  of  oi'dnance,  one 


'  ''The  clumsy,  slmpeless  eoinajjc,  hoth  of  fxulil  iiiul  silver,  t'iillei.1  in  Mexico  im'ujuinn  {le  pn/Ki, 
li'iey  rnn  ('"  wiiuhiiill  uiul  eross-money"),  and  in  this  coiiiitiv  hy  tlie  briefer  niiirellution  of  "colis." 
These  were  of  the  IiiNvfiil  stiindards,  or  nearly  so,  hut  scarcely  ileseived  the  name  of  coin,  heinj; 
laiher  Imniis  of  hallion  flattencii  and  iin])iessed  hy  u  lianitner.  the  edge  iiresentinj;  every  variety  of 
tiiiin  except  that  of  a  ciich;,  and  iitfordinjj  aniple  scope  for  the  i)ractice  of  clipping:  notwithstand- 
iaj;  they  arc  generally  found,  even  to  this  day,  within  ii  few  grains  of  iawfal  weight.  They  are 
generally  abont  a  centnry  old,  but  some  are  dated  as  late  as  1770.  They  are  distinguished  by  a 
large  cross,  of  which  the  four  arms  arc  equal  in  leugtli,  and  hjaded  at  the  ends.  The  date  general- 
ly limits  the  tliiiiisandfh  ])lace;  so  that  7.'](i,  for  example,  is  to  be  read  \~',](j.  Tlie  letters  PIA'.S 
\'l,rR.\  (/I'lis  ultra)  are  crow<lcil  in  without  attention  to  order.  Tiiese  coins  were  foiinerly 
liiiiajiht  here  in  large  (piantitics  for  recoinage,  but  have  now  become  scarce." — Wii.i.ia.m  E.  1)l- 
nois,  I'liited  States  Mint. 

I  think  the  name  of  "cob"  was  apjilied  to  money  earlier  than  the  date  given  by  Mr.  Dubois. 
Its  derivation  is  inicertain,  but  was  probably  either  "lump,"  or  from  the  Welsh,  for  "thump," 
«'.  f..  struck  money. 

'  On  au  old  map  of  unknown  date  Castin's  houses  are  located  here. 


rilK   NKW  KXGLANI)  COAST. 


brass,  tlircp  miirthercvs,  about  ciglitcoii  barrels  of  powtlcr,  and  eighteen  nun 


111  g;irns()ii. 


It  would  require  a  voluiiio  to  set  forth  in  extenso  the  aiiiiuls  of  tlieso 
iiiouiids,  scarce  litled  abovfi  the  surface  of  the  surrouiKliiiuf  |>hiteau.  But  to 
arouse  tlie  reader's  curiosity  williout  an  endeavor  to  uralify  it  were  iiidocil 
ehurlisli.  I  submit,  tlierefore,  with  tlie  brevity,  and  I  ho|>e  also  the  simplicity, 
t1i;it  should  characterize  the  historic  style,  the  essence  of  the  matter  as  it  has 
droi>))ed  from  my  alembic. 

Tlie  reader  is  referred  to  what  is  already  narrated  of  Norumbega  for  the 
earliest  knowledge  of  the  Penobscot  by  wiiite  men.  'I'iie  first  vessel  that  as- 
cended the  river  was  probably  the  bark  of  I)u  (tuast,  Sieur  de  3Ionts,  in  the 
year  1604.     De  Poutrincourt  was  there  in  the  yi'ar  100(3.'' 

No  establishment  appears  to  have  been  begun  on  the  Mauaduce  peninsula 
until  our  colonists  of  New  I'lymouth  iixotl  ui»t)n  it  for  the  site  of  a  tradiii"'- 
])ost,  about  IG'.'!).''  Here  they  erected  a  house,  di'feiided,  probably,  after  the 
fashion  of  tlie  time,  willi  palisades,  loop-holed  for  muskeliy.  Tliey  were  a 
long  way  from  home,  and  had  need  to  keep  a  wary  eye  abroad,  (lovernor 
Bradford  mentions  that  the  house  was  robbed  by  some  "Isle  of  Klie  gentle- 
men ''  in  1G;32. 

The  Plymouth  ]ieople  k('])t  possession  until  1(535,  Avlien  they  were  dispos- 
sessed by  an  expedition  sent  from  La  Have,  in  Acadia,  comniaiuled  by  the 
Chevalier  Charles  de  ^Meuon,  or,  as  lie  is  usually  styU'd,  D'Aiiliuty  Clianiis.iv. 
The  chevalier's  orders  from  Ifazilly,  wlio  had  tlii'n  the  general  coiuiii.'ukI  in 
Canada,  were  to  expel  all  the  English  as  far  as  I'emacpiid. 

Plymouth  Colony  endeavored  to  retake  the  place  by  force.  A  large  ship 
for  that  (lay,  the  Jlojje,  of  Ipswich,  England,  Cjlirliiig  commander,  was  tittcd 
out,  and  attacked  the  ])ost  in  such  a  disorderly,  unskillful  manner  that  (iir- 
ling  expended  his  :'immunition  before  having  made  the  least  impression, 
St.andish,  the  redoubtable,  was  there  in  a  small  bark,  fuming  at  the  inconijji- 
lency  of  the  commander  of  the  I/ope,  who  had  been  hired  to  do  the  job  for  so 
much  beaver  if  he  sncceeiled,  nothing  if  he  failed.  Standish,  with  the  beaver, 
returned  to  Plynu)Uth,  after  sending  (girling  a  new  supply  of  powder  from 
Peniaciuid;  but  no  further  eft'ort  is  known  to  have  been  made  to  reduce  the 
place. 

The  Pilgrims  then  turned  to  their  natural  allies,  tlie  Puritans  of  the  Bay; 
but,  as  Uochefoucauld  cunningly  says,  there  is  something  in  the  misfortunes 


'  Sc(lR\vi(.'k's  Letter,  Ilisforiraf  Magazine,  July,  1873,  p.  .'i8. 

'■'  Williamson  thinks  the  name  of  Cnpe  Hosier  a  distinct  leminder  of  Weymontli's  voyage. 

°  Though  Hntchinson  says  "ahoiit  1627,"  I  think  it  nn  error,  as  Alleiton,  the  promoter  of  the 
project,  was  in  England  in  that  year,  as  well  as  in  \(\i&  and  1G28,  as  agent  of  the  colony.  Nor  was 
the  proposal  brought  forward  until  Slierley  and  Ilatherly,  two  of  the  adventurers,  wrote  to  (iov- 
ernor  Bradford,  in  1G29,  that  they  had  determined  npou  it  in  couuectiou  with  Allerton,  and  in- 
vited Plymouth  to  join  with  them.  . 


CASTINE. 


11 


of  our  friends  tliat  does  not  displease  us.  Tlipy  got  smooth  spcoclica  in  plen- 
ty, l)ut  no  lu'Ij).  It  Is  (Mirioiis  to  observe  that  at  this  time  tiie  two  colonies 
coiiihiiii'd  were  too  weak  to  raise  and  (Mpiip  ;i  hundred  soldiers  on  a  sudden 
(•;ill.     So  the  Freneh  reniainod  in  possession  inilil  l(jr)4. 

An  attempt  was  made  hy  I'lymoutii  Colony  to  liberate  their  men  eap- 
tiiicd  at  I'enohseot.  Isaac  Allerton  was  Bent  to  demaiui  them  of  La  Tour, 
wliti  in  hani>hty  terms  refiisi-d  to  deliver  them  up, saying  all  the  country  from 
(■,i|pe  Sable  to  Cape  Cod  beloiii>:ed  to  the  king,  his  i mister,  and  if  the  Enj^lisU 
p(isiste(l  in  tradiiiL?  east  of  I'emaipiid  he  would  eapture  them. 

"Will  inonsei<>iieur  deinn  to  show  me  his  eommissiou  V 

Tlie  chevalier  hiid  his  hand  signilieantly  on  his  sword  hilt.  "This,"  nald 
lie,  "is  my  eommissioM." 

I  have  mentioned  three  Frenchmen  :  Sir  Isaac  de  Kazilly,  a  soldier  of  the 
monastic  order  of  Malta;  La  Tour,  a  heretic;  and  D'Aulnay,  i.  /.esdons  papist. 

IJazilly's  ct)mmissi<)n  is  dated  at  St.  Germain  en  Lave,  May  lOtli,  1032. 
lie  was  to  take  possession  of  I'ort  lloyal,  so  mimed  by  De  3Ionts,  ironi  its 
tflorious  harbor,  and  ceded  to  France  uiidi-r  the  treaty  of  1029.  This  was  tlie 
vear  after  the  taking"  of  La  Uochelle;  so  that  we  are  now  in  the  times  of 
tlie  great  cardinal  and  his  puissant  adversary,  Buckingham.  The  knight  of 
."Malta  was  so  well  pleased  with  .Vcadia  that  he  craved  permission  of  the 
ixviuu]  master  to  remain  in  the  country.  He  was  recalled,  with  a  reminder 
of  the  subjection  exacted  by  that  semi-military,  semi-ecclesiastical  body  of  its 
iiu'inhers.  Hutchinson  says  ho  died  soon  after  10;35.  Thero  is  evidence  he 
was  alive  in  1G;51}.  .   "' 

In  1038  Louis  XIIL  addressed  the  following  letter  to  D'Aulnay  :  "  Yon  are 
my  lieutenant-general  in  the  country  of  the  Etehemins,  from  the  middle  of 
tiie  main-land  of  Frenchman's  Bay  to  the  district  of  Canceanx.  Thus  you 
may  not  change  any  regulation  in  the  cstablishmen':  on  the  IJiver  St.  John 
made  by  the  saiil  Sieur  De  la  Tour,  etc."'  Three  years  afterward  the  king 
sent  his  commands  to  La  Tour  to  return  to  Franc  immediately;  if  he  refused, 
D'Aulnay  was  ordered  to  seize  his  person. 

Whether  the  death  of  Louis,  and  also  of  his  Eminence,  at  this  time  divert- 
ed tiie  danger  with  which  La  Tour  was  threatened,  is  a  matter  of  conjecture. 
D'Auhiay,  however,  had  pos!>essed  himself,  in  1043,  of  La  Tour's  fort,  and  the 
latter  was  a  suppliant  to  the  English  at  Boston  for  aid  to  displace  his  .idser- 
sary.  He  obtained  it,  and  recovered  his  own  again,  but  was  unable  to  eject 
D'Aulnay  from  Penobscot.  A  secoiul  attempt,  also  unsuccessful,  was  made 
tlic  following  year.  The  treaty  between  (irovernor  Endicott  and  La  Tour  in 
this  year  was  afterward  ratified  by  the  L'^nited  Colonies. 

Li  1045  D'Aulnay  was  in  France,  receiving  the  thanks  of  the  king  and 
queen-mother  for  his  zeal  in  preserving  Acadia  from  the  treasonable  designs 


■  Archives  of  Massachusetts." 


7fl 


THE  XKW  ENfiLANI)  (OAST. 


ot"  fill  Tour.  Tlic  iH'xt  yi;ir  a  Iroaty  <•!' jicacc  was  <;()iic1ii(1ih1  at  IJoston  1k'- 
tweeii  the  Kiiu;lisli  and  D'Anliiay;  and  in  1()1T,  the  lxin;j;  j:;raiiti'(l  him  li'ttciH 
patent  of  lic'iUenant-jit'ni'ral  fioni  liic  Si.  Lawrcuco  to  Acadia.  lie  died  May 
'J4lli,  l(jr)0,  iVoin  tVc'i'zinu;,  wldU'  out  in  tlic  hay  witli  liis  valet  in  a  eanoe.  La 
'I'oni-  linishi'd  I»y  niarryini:;  the  widow  of  D'Anhiay,  thus  eoniposini,',  aiul  lur- 
tner,  his  feud  willi  liie  hushantl.' 

For  some  years  (juiet  reigned  in  tlie  peninsida,  or  until  10.')!,  when  an  i  \- 
peditiou  was  tllletl  out  by  Massaeliuseits  ajjtainst  Sluyves:int  and  the  Duldi 
at  Manhattan.  IV'aee  havini;-  l)een  concluded  before  it  was  in  icadiness,  llic 
I'ui'it.'ins,  witli  true  tiiritl,  hiuneiu'd  their  aiuiament  against  the  tinsiispeet- 
iuij;  .Mounseers  of  IVn(»b^eol.  jVhhoimh  peace  also  existed  between  Croniwull 
and  Louis,  the  expenditure  of  tuuch  nuiney  without  some  j^ain  w;is  not  to  lii' 
thouuiit  of  in  the  IJav.  For  a  ])ietext,  thev  liad  always  the  old  >j;rudi>e  of 
prior  right,  going  back  to  Kllzabetirs  patent  of  1578  to  Sir  Humphrey  (Jilbert. 

IJobert  Sedgwick  and  .John  Leverett  were  two  as  niaiked  men  as  could 
bo  fiuind  in  New  England.  They  sailed  iVom  Nantasket  on  the  4lh  of  July, 
1054,  with  thi-ce  shi|)s,  a  ketch,  and  two  hundred  soldiefs  of  Old  and  New 
England.  J'ort  Koyal,  the  fort  on  St.  John's  River,  and  IV'Uobscot,  were  all 
captured.  Afterward  thev  sei-ved  the  Protector  in  England.  Si'dgwick  was 
chosen  by  Cromwell  to  cin.unand  his  insubordinate  and  starving  army  ;it  .la- 
maica,  and  died,  it  is  said,  of  a  broken  heait,  from  the  weight  ol'  ii'spousibility 
imposed  on  him. 

Although  the  King  of  Fraitce  testilled  great  displeasure  beciuso  the  jorls 
in  Acadia  were  liot  restored  to  him,  t'romwell  contimieil  tti  hold  them  fast, 
nor  wa'ro  they  given  up  until  after  the  treaty  of  Ibeda,  when  I'entagoet,  in 
1U09-t'70,  was  delivered  by  Sir  Thomas  Temple  to  .M.  l)c>  (irand  Foutaioc, 
who,  in  ]G7;i,  turned  over  the  conunaiul  to  A.  De  (Innubly. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  1074,  M.  De  Cliambly  was  assaulted  by  a  buccanei'r 
that  had  touched  at  IJoston,  where  an  English  ]tilot,  as  ]M.  De  Frontenac  says, 
was.  taken  on  board.  An  Fngiishman,  who  had  been  four  days  in  the  ])lacc' 
in  disguise,  gave  the  ])irates  every  assistance."  They  landed  one  hundred 
and  ten  men,  and  fell  with  fury  on  the  little  gari'ison  of  thirty  badly  armed 
and  disart'ected  Frenchmen.  After  sustaining  the  onset  for  an  hour,  ]M.  De 
C/hambly  fell,  shot  through  the  body.  His  ensign  was  .also  strintk  down, 
when  the  fort  surrenderi'cl  at  discretion.  The  sea-robbei's  pillaged  the  fort, 
carried  ott'the  cannon,  and  conducted  the  Sieur  De  Chambly  to  JJoston,  aloiit; 
with  M.  Do  ^Afarson,  whom  they  took  in  the  liiver  St.  John.  C-hambly  was 
put  to  ransom  of  a  thousand  beaver-skins.     Colbert,  then  minister,  expressed 


'  Aglatc  la  Tour,  {fninddiingliter  of  iliu  clievalier,  sold  tlie  seigniory  of  Acndiii  to  the  crown  for 
two  tlioiisnml  guineas. — DotJc.r.ASs. 

"  Mr.  Sliea  (Cliarlevoix)  says  this  was  .Tolni  Ulinailo.  anil  tlie  vessel  the  Flying  Horse,  Captain 
Jurriaeu  Aeniouts,  with  a  coininission  from  the  I'riiice  of  Oranye. 


CAST  I  NIC 


70 


'  Estates  me  still  conveyed  in  St.  Louis  l)y  the  urpent. 


ym^gsm. 


-"mm 


80 


THK  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


fiiul  at  liis  f^nmnions  all  the  warriovs  of  the  Abcnaquis  gatliorcd  around  him. 
Exorcisiiii;  a  n'o-al  iiowcr  in  his  forest  dotiiiiuons,  he  no  doubt  fdt  every  inch 
ji  chieftain,  Tiie  Freneh  governors  courted  him ;  the  Euglisl.  feared  and 
hated  him.  In  1696,  with  Iberv  ille,  lie  overi'an  their  stronghold  it  Peniaquid. 
He  fought  at  Port  Royal  in  IVOG,  and  again  in  1V07,  receiving  a  /ound  there. 
lie  was,  says  M.  Denonville,  of  a  daring  and  enterprising  character,  thirsting 
for  di,rtinction.  In  1'702  he  proposed  a  descent  on  IJoston,  to  be  made  in  win- 
ter by  a  competent  land  and  naval  force.  Magazines  were  to  be  formed  ;it 
Piscatacpia  and  Marblehead. 

It  is  known  that  some  earlier  passages  of  Castin's  life  in  Acadia  were  not 
free  from  reproach.  Denonville,'  in  recommending  him  to  Louvois  as  \\k 
proper  person  to  succeed  M.  Perrot  at  l*ort  Royal  ("si  M.  Perrot  degoiitait 
de  son  gouvernment"),  admits  he  had  been  addicted  in  the  past  to  riot  and 
debauchery;  "  but,"  continues  the  viceroy,  "I  am  assured  that  he  is  now 
quite  reformed,  and  has  very  proper  sentiments  on  the  subject."  I'errot,  jeal- 
ous of  Castin,  put  liim  in  arrest  for  six  weeks  for  some  foolish  affair  among 
the,/z7/6'«  of  Port  Itoyal. 

"For  mnii  is  fno  and  woman  is  tow, 
And  the  Soinoliodv  comes  and  begins  to  blow." 

In  1686  Castin  was  at  Pentagoet.  The  place  must  have  fallen  into  sad 
neglect,  for  the  Governor  of  Canada  ntade  its  fortification  and  advantages  tlic 
subject  of  a  memoi,r  to  his  Government.  It  became  tlu'  rendezvous  for  proj- 
ects against  New  England.  Quebec  was  not  ditiicidt  of  access  by  river  and 
land  to  Castin's  fleet  Abenaquis.  Port  Koyal  was  within  supporting  distance. 
Tie  Indians  interposed  a  barrier  between  English  aggression  and  the  French 
settlements.  They  were  the  weapon  freelj'  used  by  all  the  French  riders  un- 
til, from  long  service,  it  became  blunted  and  unserviceable.  They  were  tiioii 
left  to  shift  for  themselves. 

Here  Castin  continued  with  Ills  dusky  wife  and  brethren,  although  he  had 
inherited  an  ip.''.ome  of  five  million  livres  while  in  Acadia.  Ky  degrees  ho 
had  likewise  amassed  a  fortune  of  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  crowns  ''in 
good  dry  gold  ;"  but  tlie  only  use  he  made  of  it  was  to  buy  ])resents  for  his 
fellow-savage^ ,  who,  upon  tiieir  return  from  the  hunt,  repaid  him  with  usury 
in  beaver-skins  and  peltries."  In  16H.S  his  trading-liouse  was  pliind'  red  \>\ 
the  English.  It  is  caid  he  died  in  America,  but  of  this  I  have  not  the  evi- 
dence. 

Vincent  de  Castin  never  changed  his  wife,  as  the  Indian  customs  permit- 
ted, wisiiing,  it  is  sup|)Osed,  by  liis  e.vainple  to  impress  upon  them  the  sanctity 


'  Denonville,  who  siieeeeded     t.  De  l.i  Hane  ns  governor  geneial,  was  tnaitre  de  camp  to  the 
queen's  dragoons.     lie  was  siieeeeded  by  J<'ronteiiac. 
"  Denoiiville's  and  La  Iloiitans  letters. 


CASTINE. 


81 


of  marriage  as  a  part  of  the  Cliristian  religion.  He  liad  several  daughters,  all 
of  uhoin  were. well  married  to  Freuclimen,  and  had  good  dowries;  one  was 
captured  by  Colonel  Church  in  1704.     lie  had  also  a  son. 

In  1721,  during  what  was  known  as  Lovewell's  war,  in  which  Mather  in- 
tinmles,  with  many  nods  and  wiidvs  set  down  in  print,  the  I^^nglish  were  the 
jion-ressors,  Castin  the  younger  wiis  kidnaped,  and  carried  to  IJoston  a  pris- 
oiur.  His  ortense  was  in  attending  a  council  ot'llie  Abenacpiis  in  liis  capacity 
of  cliief.  lie  was  brought  before  the  council  and  interrogated.  Ilis  mien 
was  frank  and  fearless.  In  his  uniform  of  a  French  oth'cer,  Iw  stood  with 
true  Indian  smiij  fruid  in  the  presence  of  men  who  he  kne\y  were  able  to 
ileal  heavy  blows. 

"I  am,"  said  he,  "  an  Abenacpiis  by  my  mother.  All  my  life  has  been 
passed  among  the  nation  that  has  made  me  (  ief  and  commander  over  it. 
I  louid  not  be  absent  from  a  council  where  the  interests  of  my  brethren  were 
to  he  discussed.  The  Governor  of  Canada  sent  tne  no  orders.  The  dress  I 
now  wear  is  not  a  uniform,  but  one  becoming  m}  lank  and  birth  as  an  officer 
ill  the  troops  of  the  most  Christian  king,  my  master." 

The  young  baron  was  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  sheriff  of  IMiddlesex. 
lie  was  kept  seven  months  a  pri  oni  r,  and  then  released  before  his  friends, 
the  Aljenaquis,  could  strike  a  l)l(>w  for  his  (Uliverance.  This  once  formidable 
trihc  was  such  no  longer.  ]n  108'./  it  scarcely  numbered  a  hundred  warriors. 
Eiiulish  jiolii'y  had  set  a  price  upon  the  head  of  every  hostile  Indian.  Castin, 
soon  after  his  release,  returned  to  the  old  family  chateau  among  the  Pyrenees, 

"The  clioir  is  sin;,'iiif,'  the  inathi  song; 

Tlie  ddois  of  il;c  ihuivh  aie  opencil  \viile; 
Tlie  people  ciowd,  ami  presn,  and  throng 

To  see  tlie  hiidogiooni  and  the  bride. 
Tliey  enter  and  jsass  along  the  nave; 
They  st.ind  upon  tiie  farthest  grave; 
Tlie  hells  are  riiij^ing  soft  and  slow; 
The  living  above  and  the  dead  helow 
Give  their  lik's.-ing  on  on.e  and  twain ; 
Tlie  warm  wind  l)h)ws  from  the  hills  of  Spain, 
The  hirJs  are  hnildiin;,  tli'j  leaves  are  green, 
The  JJaron  ("astiiie  of  St.  Castine 
Hath  come  at  last  to  his  own  again," 

According  to  the  French  historian,  Charlevoix,  the  Capuchins  had  a  hos- 
]tice  here  in  104G,  when  visited  by  Pore  Dreuillettes.  I  mav  not,  neglect 
thcsi"  worthy  fathers,  whose  disputes  about  sleeves  aiul  cowls,  Voltaire  says, 
were  more  than  any  among  the  philosophers.  Tlie  shrewdness  of  these  old 
uioiiks  in  the  choice  of  a  locatio'i  has  been  jnstilii'd  by  the  cities  and  towns 
siinnig  from  the  sites  of  their  prinulivc  missions.     Here,  as  elsewhere, 

"—These  l)hu'k  crows 
Mad  jiitehed  hy  instinct  on  the  fattest  fallows." 
0 


82 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


"I,"  s:ii(l  XapoU'oii,  at  St.  Ilclciia,  "  iriulorod  all  the  burying-placos  iiidu- 
peiident  of  tlic  ))i'iL'(sts,  I  liatod  iViars"  {/rati),  "ami  was  tlie  anniliilator  of 
tlit'in  ami  of  tlit'ir  rt'coptacles  of  crime,  the  monasteries,  where  every  vice  was 
practiced  with  impunity.  A  set  of  miscreants"  {scekrati)''''  who  in  general  are 
a  dishonor  to  the  Imman  race.  Of  ]ii-ii'sts  I  wouhl  liave  always  alloweil  a 
sufficient  nunil)er,  but  wo /rati.'''  A  Capuchin,  says  an  old  dictionary  of  107(1, 
is  a  friar  of  St.  Francis's  order,  wearing  a  cowl,  or  capouch,  but  no  shirt  nor 
breeches.' 

Opening  our  history  at  tlie  epoch  of  the  setth'ment  of  Xew  France,  ami 
turning  over  i)age  by  page  the  period  we  have  been  reviewing,  there  is  no 
more  hideous  chapter  than  tlie  infernal  cruelties  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 
Their  agency  in  the  terrible  persecutions  of  the  Huguenots  is  too  well  known 
to  need  repetition.  St.  Bartholomew, the  broken  ]iledge  of  the  Edict  of  Xantcs, 
the  massacres:',  of  Vivarais,  of  liouergue,  and  of  Languedoc  are  among  their 
monuments. 

The  rigor  with  which  infractions  of  the  disciijline  of  the  order  were  pun- 
islicd  would  be  difficult  to  believe,  if  unsupported  by  trustworthy  lestimoiiy. 
Francis  Seldon,  a  young  j)upil  of  the  Jesuit  College  at  Paris,  was  iniprisoiinl 
thirty-one  years,  seventeen  of  which  were  passed  at  St.  ^NTarguerite,  and  loin- 
teen  in  the  IJastile.  His  crime  was  a  lam[)oon  of  two  lines  affixed  to  the  col- 
lege door.  A  lettre  de  eadat  from  Louis  XIV.  consigned  this  jioor  lad  of 
only  si.xteen  to  tlie  I>astile  in  1074,  from  whicli  lie  only  emerged  in  1  70."),  l)y 
the  assignment  of  a  rich  iiiliei-itance  to  the  Society,  impiously  called,  of  Je^lls. 

The  siege  of  La  llochelle,  and  slaughter  of  the  Huguenots,  is  lielieved  lo 
have  been  nothing  more  than  a  duel  between  Ivichelieu  and  Ibickingham,  for 
the  favor  of  Anne  of  .\ustria.  It  was,  however,  in  the  name  of  religion  that 
the  population  of  France  was  decimated.  Colbert,  in  endeavoring  to  stem  tlic 
ti<le  of  persecution,  fell  in  disgrace.  Louvois  seconded  with  devilish  zeal  tlio 
projects  of  the  Jesuits,  which  had  no  other  end  than  the  total  destruction  of 
the  reformed  faitli.  In  1075  Pere  Lachaise  entered  on  his  functions  of  fatlici- 
confessor  to  tlie  king.  He  was  powi'rfiilly  secon<led  by  his  society;  luit  tlicv, 
fearing  his  Majesty  might  regard  it  as  a  pendant  of  St.  i>artholomew,  hisi- 
tated  to  press  a  decisive  voitp  iTetat  against  the  Protestants. 

Tiiere  was  at  the  court  of  Louis  the  widow  Scarron,  bocoine  De  ,i\I;iiii- 
tenon,  declared  mistress  of  the  king,  who  modestly  aspired  to  rejilace  Marie 
Tlierese  of  Austria  upon  the  throne  of  France.  To  her  the  Jesuits  addres>- 
ed  themselves.  It  is  believed  the  compact  between  the  worthy  contracting.' 
])arties  exacted  no  less  of  each  than  the  advancement  of  their  mutual  proj- 
I'Cts  through  the  seductions  of  the  courtesan,  and  the  fears  lor  his  salvation 
the  Jesuits  were  to  inspire  in  the  mind  of  the  king.  T oiiis  believed  in  lln' 
arguments  of  Madame  l>e  ^laintenon,  ami  signed  the  Edict  ofN^aiites;  ln' 


'  (^tpiu'liii),  ii  t'(     1  or  liood. 


CASTINE. 


83 


cL'ilotl  to  tlio  throats  or  counsels  Df  his  confessor,  and  secretly  espoused  Ma- 
dame De  Maintenon.  The  25tli  October,  1G85,  the  royal  seal  was,  it  is  not 
doubted  by  her  inspiration,  appended  to  the  barbarous  edict,  drawn  up  by  the 


I'ere  Le  Tellier,  under  tiie  auspices  of  the  Society 

)usan 


of  J 


esus. 


France  had  already  lost  a  hundred  thousand  of  her  bravest  and  most 
skillful  children.  She  was  now  to  lose  many  more.  Amony  the  fugitives 
(iriven  from  the  fatherland  were  many  who  tied,  as  the  Pilgrims  had  done 
iiiio  Holland.  Some  sought  the  New  World,  and  their  descendants  Avere 
such  men  as  John  Jay,  Elias  IJoudinot,  James  iJowdoin,  and  Peter  Faneuil. 

Before  the  famous  edict  of  1  OH"),  the  Huguenots  had  been  forbidden  to 
establish  themselves  cither  in  Canada  or  Acadia.  They  were  permitted  to 
visit  the  ports  for  trade,  but  not  to  exercise  their  religion.  The  Jesuits  took 
care  that  the  edict  was  enforced  in  tlie  French  possessions.  I  have  thought 
the  oft-cited  intolerance  of  the  Puritans  might  be  effectively  contrasted  with 
tiie  diabolical  zeal  with  which  Catholic  Christendom  pursued  the  annihilation 
oftlie  reformed  religion. 

The  Jesuits  obtained  at  an  early  day  a  )>repoiulerating  influence  in  Cana- 
da and  in  Acadia.  It  is  believed  the  governor-generals  had  not  such  real 
pdwer  as  the  bishops  of  Quebec.  At  a  later  day,  they  were  able  well-nigh 
Id  ]>aralyze  ]Montcahn's  defense  of  Quebec.  The  fathers  of  the  order,  with 
lln-  crucifix  held  aloft,  preached  crusades  against  the  English  to  the  savag'.>s 
liiey  were  sent  to  convert.  (Jue  of  the  fiercest  Caiiabas  chiefs  related  to  an 
Kiiglish  divine  that  the  friars  told  his  peo[)le  the  blessed  Virgin  was  a  French 
lady,  and  that  her  son,  Jesus  Chi'ist,  had  been  killed  by  the  English."  One 
iiii.ilit  say  the  gray  hairs  of  old  men  and  the  blood -dabbled  ringlets  of  in- 
nocent children  were  laid  on  the  altars  of  their  chapels. 

We  can  afford  to  smile  at  the  forecast  of  Louis,  when  he  says  to  M.  De 
la  i5niie  in  IGS.'],  "I  am  persuaded,  like  you,  that  the  discoveries  of  Sieur  La 
Salle  are  altogether  useless,  and  it  is  necessary,  hereafter,  to  put  a  stop  to 
siii'li  enterprises,  which  can  have  no  other  effect  than  to  scatter  the  inhabit- 
ants l)y  the  hope  of  gain,  and  to  diminish  the  supply  of  beaver."  We  still 
preserve  in  Louisiana  the  shadow  of  the  sceptre  of  this  monarch,  whose  needy 
successor  at  Versjiilles  sold  us,  for  fifteen  millions,  a  territoi-y  that  could  pay 
the  (iernian  subsidy  with  a  year's  harvest. 

Doubtless  the  little  bell  in  tlu;  hospice  turret,  tolling  for  matins  or  vespers, 
was  often  heard  by  the  fisher  in  the  bay,  as  he  rested  on  his  oars  and  repeat- 
ed an  ot't,  or  chanted  the  parting  hymn  of  the  Provencal: 

'•(),  vierj;i'!     (),  Miuii!! 
I'oiir  inoi  ])riez  Dieti ; 
Atlioii,  udieii,  imtiic, 
I'lovenije,  adieu." 


'  ("iiiiiU  Froiitenm;  was  ii  relative  of  De  Maintenon. 


'  Cotton  Mather. 


84 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Thero  Is  a  pleasant  ramblo  over  the  liill  by  the  cemetery,  witli  the  sanu' 
accompaniments  of  green  turf,  limpid  bay,  aiul  cool  breezes  everywhere.  Inter- 
mitting putt's,  ruftling  the  water  here  and  there,  fill  the  sails  of  coasting  crafi, 
while  others  lie  becalmed  within  a  ihw  cable- lengths  of  them.  Near  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  ground  I  discovered  vestiges  of  another  small  battery. 

Castine  having  assumed  the  funi'tions  of  a  town  within  a  j)eri()d  compara- 
tively recent,  her  cemetery  shows  few  interesting  stones.  Tiie  ancients  of  the 
littio  Acadian  iiamlet  lie  in  forgotten  graves;  no  nioss-eovered  tablets  for  the 
antiquary  to  kneel  beside,  and  trace  the  time-worn  course  of  the  chisel,  arc 
there.  Numbers  of  graves  are  indicated  only  by  the  significant  heaving  of 
the  turf.  Ill  one  part  of  the  Held  is  a  large  and  rudely  fashioned  slate-stone 
standing  at  the  head  of  a  tumulus.     A  tablet  with  these  lines  is  affixed: 

IN    MEMORY    OF 

CHARLES  STEWART, 

The  earliest  occupant  of  this  iNLinsion  of  tho  Dead, 

A  Native  of  Scotland, 

And  1st  Lieut.  Comm.  of  liis  B.  M.  741)1  Rcgt.  of  foot,  or  Arf^yle  Highlanders. 

Who  died  in  this  Town,  while  it  was  in  possession  of  the  Enemy, 

March,  A.D.  17S3, 

And  was  interred  beneath  this  stone, 

jEt.  about  40  yrs. 


This  Tablet  was  inserted 
A.D.  1849. 


The  tablet  has  a  talc  to  tell.  It  runs  that  Stewart  quarreled  with  ■". 
brother  otticer  at  the  mess-table,  and  challenged  him.  Hearing  of  the  inteml- 
ed  duel,  the  commanding  oificer  reprimanded  the  hot-blooded  Scotsman  in 
such  terms  that,  stung  to  the  quick,  he  fell,  Roman-like,  on  his  own  sword. 

Elsewhere  I  read  the  name  of  Captain  Isaiah  Skinner,  who,  as  master  of  a 
packet  plying  to  the  opposite  shore, "  thirty  thousand  times  braved  the  \wv- 
ils  of  our  bay." 

While  I  was  in  Castine  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  factory  in  which  lobsters  are 
canned  for  mar.;ct.  A  literally  "smashing"  business  was  carrying  on,  but 
with  an  uncleamiess  that  for  many  months  impaired  my  predilection  for  this 
delicate  crustacem.  The  lobsters  are  brought  in  small  vessels  irom  the  low- 
er bay.  They  aie  then  tossed,  while  living,  into  vats  containing  salt  water 
boiling  hot,  wher'3  they  receive  a  thorough  steaming.  They  are  next  trans- 
ferred to  long  tables,  and,  after  cooling,  are  opened.  Only  the  flesh  of  the 
larger  claws  and  tail  is  used,  the  rt.'iiuiiiider  beii\'-  cast  aside.  The  reserved 
portions  iiie  put  into  tin  can;  that,  after  being  tightly  soldered,  are  subjeclol 
to  a  new  steaming  of  five  and  a  half  hours  to  keep  them  fresh.' 

In  order  to  arn  st  the  wholesale  slaughter  of  the  lo!»stcr,  stringent  hius 


'  Islo  uu  llaut  is  particularly  renowned  for  the  size  and  quality  of  these  lisii. 


»i*' 


CASTINE. 


85 


liave  been  made  in  Elaine  and  Massacliusotts.  Tlie  fislieiy  is  proliibiled  dur- 
ing cortain  months,  and  a  line  is  in)|iosed  ibr  every  lish  exposed  for  sale  of 
less  than  a  certain  growth.  Of  a  heap  containing  some  eight  hnndred  lob- 
sters brought  to  the  factory,  not  fifty  wero  of  thit:  size;  a  large  proportion 
wQve  not  eight  inches  Kmg.  Fieo^iieiit  boiling  in  the  same  water,  witli  the 
slovenly  appearance  of  the  operatives,  male  and  female,  would  suggest  a 
(hnibt  whether  plain  Penobscot  lobster  is  as  toothsome  as  is  supposed.  The 
whole  process  was  in  marked  coiitrast  with  the  scrupulous  neatness  witli 
which  similar  operations  are  el>.  v,  here  conducted;  nor  was  there  particular 
scrutiny  as  to  whether  the  lobsters  were  already  dead  when  received  from 
the  vessels. 

Wood,  in  the  "  Xew  England  Prospect,"  mentions  that  lobsters  were  so 


with 
intent 


1- 


qnan  ui 


wort 


<U>r  of  a 
I  he  pol- 


lsters ;uv 
on,  liut 
for  {\^\'^ 


le  i« 


)\V- 


Itl 

lit  waK-r 
Ixt  trans- 
Ih  of  ilio 


Ireservi.' 
ubjecl*-' 


•lit  laws 


LOliSTKU  I'OT. 


plenty  and 
ly,  he  says, 
the'r  hooks 
count  of  a  1 


le  saw  one 


food  a^  tliey 
The  tirst- 
tho  ancient 
tlie  moderns, 
east  of  the 
liuled  to  as 
til"  region  e 
aiid  no  mist; 
hii'ot/iiita, 
Morth-north- 
oaslern  bord 


little  esteemed  they  wore  seMom  eaten.  They  were  frcqucnt- 
of  twenty  ])ounds'  weight.  The  Indians  used  lobsters  to  bait 
and  ate  them  when  they  could  not  get  bass.  I  liave  seen  an  ac- 
obster  that  weinhed  thirtv-five  i)ounds.  Josselvn  mentions  that 
weighing  twenty  pounds,  and  that  the  Indians  dried  them  for 
did  lampreys  and  oysti'rs. 

comers  into  New  England  waters  were  not  more  ]Mizzled  to  find 
city  of  Xorumbega  than  I  to  reach  the  fabuh)us  Down  East  of 
,  In  San  Francisco  the  name  is  vaguely  njiplied  to  the  territory 
Mississippi,  though  more  fi-ecpiently  the  rest  of  the  republic  is  al- 
"Tho  States."  South  of  the  t)bruerated  ]Mason  and  Dixon's  line, 
ast  of  the  AUeghanies  and  north  of  the  Potomac  is  Down  East, 
ike  about  it.  In  Xew  York  you  are  ;;s  far  as  ever  from  tliis  ttrra 
In  (.'onnecticnt  they  shrug  their  siioulders  and  point  you  about 
east.  Down  East,  say  ^lassachusetts  |)eople,  is  just  across  our 
I'f.     Arrived  on  the  Penobscot,  I  fancied  myself  there  at  last. 


86 


TIIK   NEW  km; LAM)   COAST. 


"Whither  bound?"  I  askeu  of  a  tishorman,  getting  up  his  foresail  before 
loosing  from  the  wliarf. 

"Sir,  to  you.     Down  East." 

The  evident  determination  to  sliift  the  responsibility  forbade  further  pin- 
suit  of  this  fictitious  land,  Besides,  Elaine  jieople  u"e  indisposed  to  accept 
without  challenge  the  name  so  universally  applied  to  tiiem  of  Down  Easters. 
We  do  not  say  down  to  the  Nortli  Pole,  and  we  do  say  down  Soutli.  The 
higlier  latitude  we  make  northwardly  the  I'arther  down  we  get.  Nevertlic- 
less,  disposed  as  I  avow  mystlf  to  prc-ent  the  ease  fairly,  the  people  of  ]Maiiii' 
uniforndy  say  "up  to  the  westward,"  when  speaking  of  ^Massachusetts,  Of 
one  thing  I  am  persuaded — Down  East  is  nowhere  in  New  England, 


Ol.l)   I'OUT    I'UliUKKH  K,  I'KMAt^l  11^    I'OINT. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

r  K  M  A  Q  I'  I  I»     !•  O  I  XT. 

'Love  llum  thy  liuui,  wiili  love  fur-l)iought 
From  out  the  storied  I'ast,  lunl  nsed 
Wiiliiu  the  Present,  but  tiuiisfused 
Thio'  future  time  by  i>o\ver  of  th 


A 


Tkxnyson. 

VERY  small  fiaction  of  the  )u'oj)lt'  o^  New  P^iiglaiul,  I  venture  to  say, 
know  iiH)fe  of  Peiiiaqu'ul  than  tiiat  such  a  place  once  existed  somewheic 
within  her  limits;  yet  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  lake  iij)  a  book  on  New  En- 
U'land  in  which  the  name  does  not  occur  with  a  frequency  that  is  of  itself  a 
spur  to  inquiry.  If  a  ihw  volumes  be  consulted,  the  nuiterials  f<n"  history  be- 
come abtnidaut.  After  accumulating  for  two  liun(b'ed  years,  or  ihoi-e,  what 
belongs  to  the  iuq)eiishable  things  of  earth,  this  old  outpost  of  English  pow- 
er has  returned  into  second  childhood,  and  become  what  it  originally  was, 
namely,  a  tishiiig-village. 

Hut  those  who  delight  in  ferreting  tln-ough  the  chinks  and  crannies  of  an 
out-of-the-way  locality,  will  be  repaid  by  starting  fi-om  Damariscotta  on  a 
coastwise  voyage  of  discovery.  In  traveling  by  railway  from  Portland,  Avith 
your  face  to  the  rising  sun,  you  catch  occasiomd  gliiiipses  of  the  ocean,  and 
you  receive  imperfect  impressions  of  the  estuaries  that  indent  her  "hundred- 
harbored"  shores;  but  from  the  window  of  a  stage-coacli  journeying  at  six 


nil 


les  an  hour  the  material  and  mental  eye  may  receive  and  iix  ideas  more  dis- 
tiiirt  and  enduring. 

I  reached  the  little  village  of  Xew  Harbor,  at  Pemacpiid  Point,  in  time  to 
see  the  sun  crimson  in  setting,  a  cloudless  sky,  and  an  unruttied  sen.  Monlie- 
gau  Island  grew  of  a  deep  purple  in  the  twilight  shadows,  x'ne  tower  lamps 
were  alight,  nnd  from  neighboring  islands  other  beacons  twinkled  pleasantly 


0 


88 


THE  ^'K^V  ENGLAND  COAST. 


i.ANU-iiiu;i;/.i;  of  i:\i.MN(. 


Oil  tlio  waters.     Coasting  vessels  trimmed  their  sails  to  eateh  the  laud-bree/.o 
of  evening.     Tlien  the  moon  arose. 

The  little  harbor  beneath  Tne  eontaincd  a  few  small  fishing-vessels  at  an- 
chor. One  or  two 
others  were  slow- 
ly Avorking  their 
way  in.  The  cot- 
tages straggling 
by  the  shore  were 
not  nnmerous  or 
noticeable.  It 

was  still  some 
three  miles  to  the 
light-honse  at  the 
extremity  of  tlie 
2Joint. 

At      Bi'istol 
:Mills    I   had    ex- 

char;gcd  the  stage  for  a  beach-wagon.  The  driver  was  evidently  a  person 
of  consequence  here,  as  he  usnally  becomes  in  such  isolated  neighborhoods 
out  of  the  beaten  paths  of  travel.  His  loquacity  was  marvelous.  He  had 
either  a  message  or  a  missive  for  every  one  he  met ;  and  at  the  noiso  of  our 
wheels  house  doors  opened,  and  the  noses  and  lips  of  \oungsters  were  flat- 
tened in  a  whimsical  manner  against  the  window-panes.  I  observed  that  lie 
invariably  saluted  the  girls  by  their  Christian  names  as  they  stood  shyly 
peeping  iV  .gh  half-opened  doors;  adding  the  middle  name  to  the  baptismal 
whenever  one  might  be  claimed,  as  Olive  Ann,  Matilda  Jane,  or  Hannah  Aim. 
I  should  have  called  some  of  them  ])1ain  Olive,  or  3Iatilda,  or  Hannah.  The 
men  answered  to  such  names  as  Dominicus,  Jott,  and  'Life  (Eliphalet).  Thus 
this  brisk  little  fellow's  passing  was  the  great  event  over  toi'v  miles  of  road. 
I  should  have  gone  directly  to  the  old  settlement  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Neck,  now  known  as  "The  Factory;"  but  liei-e,  for  a  wonder,  were  no  hotels, 
and  travelers  arc  dependent  upon  private  hospitality.  "Do  you  think  they 
will  take  me  in  over  there  ?"  I  queried,  pointing  to  the  old  mansion  on  the 
site  of  Fort  Frederick.  The  driver  shook  his  head. 
"Are  they  quite  full  ?" 

"Solid,"  was  his  re])ly,  given  with  an  empliasls  that  conveyed  the  impres- 
sion of  sardines  in  a  box.     So  I  was  fain  to  rest  with  a  fisherman  turiied  store- 
•  keeper. 

The  little  rock-environed  harbor  on  the  side  of  Muscongus  Bay  is  a  mere 
roadstead,  unfit  for  shijiping  in  heavy  easterly  weather.  This  i)lace,  like  many 
neighboring  sea-coast  hamlets,  was  busily  engaged  in  the  mackerel  and  men- 
haden fishery.     Tl  e  iatter  fish,  usually  called  "  porgee,"  is  in  demand  at  the 


rKMAurii)  ruiNT. 


89 


flictnrics  along  shore  for  its  oil,  ami  aiiionu;  Uank  fisliormen  as  bait.  Some  oUl 
cfllars  on  the  north  sido  of  New  Harbor  imlicatod  tlio  h<;ale  of  a  fornier  <>en- 
(  nilion  of  tishennen.  On  this  side,  too,  tliere  existed,  not  many  yeai's  a^'o,  re- 
mains of  a  fortilieation  ofaneient  date.'  Shot,  household  \itensils,  etc.,  liave 
xcavatc'd  there.     There  is  also  bv  the  shore  what  was  either  the  lair 


x'cii  e 


of  wild  beasts,  or  a  ]>lace  of  coneealment  fieiinented  by  sava;j;es.  ]\Ir.  M'Far- 
l;iiid,one  of  the  oldest  residents,  mentioned  lliat  he  had  tbnnd  an  arrow-head 
ill  tlie  den.  Various  eoiiis  and  Indian  iini)h'ments,  some  of  which  I  saw,  have 
i)C'i'ii  turned  up  with  the  soil  on  this  neek  of  land. 

The  visitor  will  not  leave  New  Harbor  without  hearinjx  of  sharp  work 
done  there  in  the  war  of  1812.  The  eneniy's  eruisers  kept  the  coast  in  i)er- 
])c!u;d  alarm  by  their  maraudiiiL:;  excursions  in  defenseless  harbors.  One 
(lay  a  British  frigate  hove  to  in  the  l>ay,  and  in  a  slioit  time  a  number  of 
hariics  were  seen  to  push  off,  fully  manned,  for  the  shore.  The  small  militia 
guard  tlien  stationed  in  Old  Foit  Fi'ederiek  was  notified,  and  the  residents 
of  New  Harbor  prepared  lor  action.  As  the  leadimj,'  Jbitisli  barge  entered 
the  iiarbor,  it  was  Jiailed  by  an  aged  iislierman,  who  warned  the  oilicer  in 
charge  not  to  attempt  to  land.  "  If  a  single  gun  is  iired,"  replied  the  Briton, 
"the  town  shall  be  destroyed." 

Not  a  single  gn.i,  but  a  deadly  volley,  answered  the  threat.  The  rocks 
were  bristling  with  old  (jueen's  arms  and  ducking-guns,  in  the  grasp  of  a  score 
of  resolute  fellows.  Every  shot  was  well  aimed.  The  barge  drifted  help- 
Ks^ly  out  with  the  tide,  and  the  captain  of  the  frigate  had  a  sorry  dispatch 
for  the  admiral  at  Ilalifix. 

Leaving  New  Harbor,  I  crossed  a  by-path  that  conducted  to  the  factory 
■  road.  Here  and  (.'Isewhere  I  had  listened  to  the  story  of  the  destruction 
I  of  the  menhaden,  from  the  fishermen's  point  of  view.  Tliey  apprehend  noth- 
jing  less  than  the  total  disappearance  of  this  fish  at  no  distant  day.  "What 
are  we  poor  fellows  going  to  do  when  they  catch  up  all  the  porgoos?"  asked 
jone.  Tiii  fishery,  as  conducted  by  the  factories,  is  regarded  by  the  fishermen 
j proper  a<  the  introduction  of  iin[)roved  machinery  that  dispenses  with  labor 
I  is  looked  upon  by  the  o[)er!itive.  Although  the  oil  iactories  purchase  the 
catch  that  is  brought  in,  the  owners  are  considered  intruders,  and  experi- 
louce  many  petty  vexations.  As  men  of  capital,  i)ossessed  o.f  all  needful  ap- 
tpliances  for  their  business,  they  are  really  independent  of  the  resident  ])op- 
julation,  to  wlioni,  on  the  other  hand,  they  disburse  money  and  give  employ- 
jnieiit.  The  question  with  which  the  political  economist  will  have  to  deal  is 
jthe  expected  extinction  of  the  menhaden. 

1  went  through  tlie  factory  at  Pemaqnid  Point,  and  was  pcsnaded  the 
llisli  cuald  not  long  snpport  the  drain  upon  them.     The  porgoe  begins  to  fre- 


'  This  work  is  on  an  old  mnp  of  the  Kennebec  patent.     It  was  about  twenty  lO'is  sqiuire,  witli 
bastion.     A  bouse  now  stands  in  the  space  it  tbrmeily  occupied. 


it^m— .-^-^..w -„^,^^^  ^^MjM^nKmitL^n •UK^.nf^.rXl' 


00 


THE  NEW  KNULANl)  CUA.ST. 


i- 


qticnt  tlioso  Wiitrrs  in  Juiu'.  Tlio  liist,  -  ('(mikm's  arc  lean,  and  will  make  mily 
a  u;ail()n  of  oil  io  tlie  barni;  tlinso  ofScptt'inhL'r  yifld  lour  tfallons.  A  lloi't 
of  i»r()|»i'lli'rs,  as  well  as  suiling-i'raft  of  forty  to  tifiy  tons  bunlun,  are  kcjit 
constantly  fnijiloycil. 

At  I't'nia(|iiiil  liarbor,  the  llsli  carLjocs  aro  transfi-rred  from  tlie  stciimr 
to  an  clovalt'tl  tank  of  tlio  capacity  of  lour  tliousand  barrels,  l^nderm  iiih 
the  tank  a  tram-way,  eonduetiuL;  by  an  inclineil  plane  to  the  second  stoiy  tit 
the  factory,  is  laid  upon  the  wharf,  in  the  l)ottoni  of  the  tank  is  a  trap-dnor 
that,  upon  beinu;  opened,  (juiekly  lills  a  car  placed  below.  The  fish  are  then 
taken  into  the  factory  and  duiiii)ed  into  other  tanks,  containinjj  each  three 
car-loads,  or  about  sixty  barrels.  Here  steam  is  introduced,  rapidly  conven- 
ing the  iish  into  unsavory  chowder,  or  "  mash."  As  many  as  a  dozen  of  these 
vats  were  in  ct)nstant  use.  The  oil  and  water  being  drawn  off  into  other 
vats,  the  product  is  obtained  througli  the  simplest  of  maehinery,  and  the  well- 
known  principle  that  in  an  admixture  with  water  oil  will  rise  to  the  surfjiee, 
The  residuum  from  the  lirst  process  is  shoveled  into  perforated  iron  cylimleis, 
by  men  standing  uj)  to  their  knees  in  the  steaming  mass.  It  is  then  siili- 
jectcd  to  hydraulic  pressure,  and,  after  the  extraction  of  every  drop  of  nil,  is 
carefully  housed,  to  be  converted  into  pliosphates.  The  Avater  is  passed  iVoiii 
tank  to  t;iid<  until  comi)letely  free  of  oil.      Nothing  is  lost. 

This  factory  had  a  capacity  of  three  thousand  barrels  per  day,  though  not 
of  the  largest  class.  Others  were  working  day  and  night  throi;gh  the  season, 
whicli  continues  for  about  three  months. 

I  walked  afterward  by  the  side  of  a  seine  two  hundred  fathoms  in  lenirtli. 
spread  upon  the  grass  in  order  to  contract  the  meshes.  One  of  them  fiTMjuen'- 
iy  costs  above  at'iousand  dollars, aiid  is  sometimes  destroyed  at  the  first  ca.';t- 
iug  by  being  caught  on  the  ledges  in  sliallow  water. 

An  old  hand  can  easily  tell  the  difference  between  a  school  of  mackerel 
and  one  of  menhaden.  The  former  rush  in  a  body  on  the  top  of  the  water, 
Avhile  the  sh<  d  of  porgees  merely  ripples  the  surface,  as  is  sometimes  seen 
when  a  moving  body  of  water  impinges  against  a  counter -current.  The 
niackcnl  takes  the  hook,  while  the  porgee  and  herring  never  do. 

The  talk  was  moi-e  fi^hy  here  than  in  any  place  I  have  visited.  Here  tlicy 
call  a  school,  or  shoal,  "a  pod  offish  ;"  "  we  sot  round  a  pod"  being  a  com- 
mon expression.  The  small  vessels  are  called  seiners.  When  they  approach 
a  school,  the  seine  is  carried  out  in  boats,  one  end  being  attached  to  the  ves- 
sel, except  when  a  bad  sea  is  rumiing.  I  have  seen  the  men  standing  up  to 
the  middle  among  the  fish  they  were  hauling  in;  aiid  they  are  somclimes 
obliged  to  abandon  half  their  draught. 

The  whole  process  of  rendering  menhaden  into  oil  is  less  offensive  to  tlie 
olfactories  than  might  be  sup])osed.  The  works  at  Pemaquid  Point  are  own- 
ed by  Judson,Tarr,  and  Co.,of  Kockport,  ^lassachusctts.  As  against  the  gen- 
erally received  opitnon  that  they  were  destroying  fish  faster  than  the  losses 


I'KMAQriI)   POINT, 


91 


could  ln'  repaired,  till'  niiii'^iiiil  alimi(liiiic(!  ot'iiKxckoi'i'l  tin?  last  year  was  oitcil. 
.MiirkiMvi,  howc'vi'r,  are  not  j^ronnd  ti|»  at  tliu  rate  of  many  tlioiisaiid  Itarrols 
jicr  d.iy.  It  is  easy  to  conjecture  that  present  profit  is  more  loolied  to  tliaii 
I'liture  scarcity.  'I'lie  product  of  mciiliaden  is  cliieHy  used  in  tlie  adulteration 
nl' liiisccd-oil.  Tiiis  H>li  is  prohalily  tlu-  same  calli'd  l)y  tlie  Frendi  "//^/n/k/- 
/•f//,"  and  tbmiil  by  tliem  in  yivat  altmidancc  on  the  coasts  of  ^\cadia. 

Some  accoinit  of  the  liabits  of  thi'  mackerel,  as  i^iven  by  veteian  tisher- 
iiicii,  is  of  interest  to  such  as  esteem  this  valinible  tish — and  the  numbei"  is 
Icniiiii  —  if  not  in  explanation  of  the  seemingly  purposeless  drilling  of  the 
mackerel  iieet  along  shore,  which  is,  ni'vertheless,  guided  by  calculation. 

In  early  spring  the  old  breeding  tish  come  into  the  bays  and  rivers  to 
spawn.  They  then  relniii  northward.  These  mackerel  are  not  apt  to  take 
the  hook,  but  are  caught  in  weirs  and  seines,  a  [tractice  tending  to  inevitable 
scarcity  in  the  future.  The  parent  fish  come  b;ick,  in  September,  to  the  local- 
ities where  they  have  spawned,  and,  taking  their  young  in  charge,  proceed  to 
the  warmer  waters  west  and  south.  Few  if  any  nnickerel  spawn  south  of 
(.'ape  Cod. 

I)y  the  time  this  migration  occurs,  the  young  tish  have  grown  to  six  or 
seven  inches  in  length,  and  are  called  "tinkers."  They  frequently  take  tlu' 
bait  with  avidity,  but  are  too  snnill  for  market.  When  this  school  comes 
along,  the  fishernu'ii  )>repare  to  follow,  saying,  "The  mackerel  are  bound  west, 
Mild  we  must  work  west  with  them."  These  first -comers  are  usually  fol- 
lowed I)y  a  second  school  of  1.>etter  si/o  and  (piality.  I  have  often  seen  num- 
bers of  young  mackerel,  of  thi'ce  to  four  inches  in  length,  left  in  shallow  pools 
upon  the  flats  by  the  tide  in  midsummer. 

In  the  midst  of  a  "biting  school"  no  sport  could  be  move  exciting  or  sat- 
isfving.  At  such  times  the  mackerel  resemble  f;;mished  wolves,  snap])ing 
and  crowding  for  the  bait,  rather  than  harndess  fishes.  This  unexampled  vo- 
larity  makes  tiiein  an  easy  prey,  and  they  are  taken  as  fast  as  the  line  can  be 
thrown  over.  It  not  unfreipiently  happens  that  the  school  will  either  sink  or 
suddenly  refuse  the  bait,  even  while  swarming  about  tl.e  sides  of  the  vessels. 
This  is  vexatious,  but  there  is  no  help  for  it.  The  fleet  must  lie  idle  until  the 
capricious  or  overfed  fish  is  himgry. 

Mackerel  swim  in  deep  water,  and  are  brought  to  the  surface  by  casting 
over 'quantities  of  ground  bait.  If  they  happen  to  be  on  the  surface  in  u 
storm,  at  the  first  peal  of  thur.der  they  will  sink  to  the  bottom.  The  move- 
ments of  the  fish  in  the  water  are  like  a  gleam  of  ligb.i,  and  it  dies  hard  when 
out  of  it.  The  mackerel  was  in  gieat  abundance  when  Xew  England  was 
first  visited, 

bi  the  confusion  naturally  incident  to  accounts  of  early  discoveries  on  our 
coast  of  Xew  England,  it  is  pleasant  to  find  one  vantage-ground  from  which 
you  can  not  be  dislodged.  In  this  respect  Petnaquid  stands  almost  alone. 
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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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92 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


either  more  or  less  of  the  snrroniuliiig  territory  or  adjacent  waters  tliixn  at 
present;  still  there  is  eminent  siitisliictioii  in  stiuuling  at  PeniuquiJ  on  ini- 
])regnable  ground. 

In  the  minds  of  some  old  writers  Pemaquid  was  uiiqnestionably  confound- 
ed with  the  Penobscot.  There  is  a  description  of  Pemaquid  llivcr  iVom  the 
liakluj't  papers,'  wliich  makes  it  the  easteniinost  river,  one  excepted,  of  ^lavo- 
shen,  manifestly  a  name  erroneously  aj)plied,  as  the  description  is  as  far  fntin 
coinciding  with  the  true  Pemaquid  as  is  its  location  by  Ilakluyt.  In  this  ac- 
count the  Sagadalioc  and  town  of  Keimebec  are  also  mentioned.  Like  many 
others,  it  is  more  curious  than  instructive. 

It  also  appears,  to  the  student's  dismay,  that  in  some  instances  the  discov- 
erers were  apprehensive  of  drawing  attention  to  any  new-found  port  or  har- 
bor, as  it  would  render  their  monopoly  of  less  value.  The  account  of  Wey- 
mouth's voyage  by  James  Iiosier  omitted  the  latitude,  doubtless  with  this 
object.  His  nari'ative,  if  not  written  to  mislead,  was  confessedly  not  intend- 
ed to  instruct.  How  is  the  historian  to  follow  sueh  a  clue?  Fortunately, 
after  many  puzzling  and  unsatisfactory  conjectures,  the  account  of  Willinm 
Strachey  makes  all  clear,  so  iar  as  Pemaquid  is  in  question.  Weymouth's 
first  landfall  was  in  42°,  and  he  coasted  northward  to  44°.  Strachey  speaks 
of  "the  isles  and  rivers,  together  with  that  little  one  of  Pemaquid," 

Sir  F.  Gorges,  in  his  "  IJrief  Narration,"  mentions  that  "  it  ])leased  God  "  to 
bring  Captain  Weymouth,  on  his  return  in  1605,  into  the  harbor  of  Plymouth. 
where  he,  Sir  Ferdinando,  then  commanded.''  Captain  ^^Vynloulh,  he  contin- 
ues, had  been  dispatched  by  the  Lord  Arundel  of  Wardour  in  s^'arch  of  tlic 
North-west  Passage,  but  falling  short  of  his  course,  had  happened  into  a  river 
on  the  coast  of  America  called  Pemaquid.  In  the  rej)rint  of  Sir  F.  Gorges's 
invaluable  narrative^  the  word  I'enobscot  is  jjlaced  after  Pemaquid  in  brack- 
ets.    It  does  not  ajipear  in  the  original. 

Pemaquid,  then,  becomes  one  of  the  pivotal  points  of  Xew  England  dis- 
covery, as  it  subsequently  was  of  her  history.  As  the  French  had  directuil 
their  early  eftorts  toward  the  Penobscot,  so  the  P^nglish  had  imbibed  stroiii;; 
predilections  for  the  Sagadahoc,  or  Kennebec.  Weymouth  and  Pring  had 
paved  the  way ;  the  Indians  transported  to  England  had  been  able  to  give 
an  intelligible  account  of  tlie  country,  the  configuration  of  the  coasts,  the 
magnitude  of  the  rivers,  and  power  of  the  nations  ])eopling  the  banks. 

The  Kennebec  was  known  to  the  French  earlier  than  to  the  P^nglish,  and 
by  its  proper  name.  Chaniplain's  voyage  in  the  autumn  of  1G04  extended, 
it  is  believed,  as  far  as  Monhegan,  as  lie  names  an  isle  ten  leagues  from 
"  Qainebequl,^''  and  says  he  went  three  or  four  leagues  beyond  it.     Moreover, 


'  "Purchas,"  vol.  iv.,  1874. 

'■'  In  1003  Gorges  was  deprived  of  the  commaml,  hut  had  it  restored  to  him  the  same  year. 

"  "Collections  ot  she-  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,"  vol.  vi.,  !)d  series. 


PEMAQUID  I'OINT. 


93 


ho  liad  coasted  both  shores  of  the  Penobscot  bay,  peiietratiiii?  at  least  as  far 
as  llie  Xarrows,  below  Bucksjioit.  lie  calls  the  Canideii  hills  Bedabetlec, 
ami  i?:iys  the  Kennebec  and  Penobscot  Indians  were  at  enmity.  De  !Monts 
followed  Champlain  in  J  ane,  1G05,  having  sailed  from  St.  Croix  two  days 
after  AVeymonth's  departni'e  from  the  coast  for  England.  He  was  more  than 
two  months  in  exploring  a  hundred  and  twenty  leagues  of  sea-coast,  visiting 
aiul  ohserving  the  Kennebec,  of  whicli  a  straiglilforward  story  is  told.  Even 
then  the  river  was  known  as  a  thoroughfare  to  Canada.' 

The  month  of  the  Kennebec  is  interesting  as  the  scene  of  the  third  at- 
tempt  to  obtain  a  foothold  on  New  England's  soil.  This  was  the  colony  of 
Chief-justice  Popliairi,  which  arrive<l  olf  Moniiegan  in  August,  IGOT."  This 
uiulertaking  wuh  intended  to  be  [)ermanent.  There  were  two  well-provided 
ships,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  colonists.^  The  leader  of  the  enterprise, 
George  Popliam,  was  accompanied  by  Captain  Kaleigh  Gilbert,  nephew  and 
namesake  of  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh. 

A  settlement  was  eifected  on  Ilunnewoll's  Point,  at  the  month  of  the  Ken- 
nebec. The  winter  was  one  of  unexampled  severity,  and  the  new-comers  had 
been  late  in  preparing  lor  it.  Encountering  privations  similar  to  those  after- 
wanl  endured  by  the  Plymouth  settlers,  they  lost  courage,  and  when  news 
of  the  death  of  their  patron,  the  chief-justice,  reached  them,  were  ready  to 
abandon  the  project.  Popham,  having  died  in  February,  was  succeeded  by 
Gilbert,  whose  affairs  recalling  him  to  England,  the  whole  colony  deserted 
their  settlement  at  Fort  St.  George  in  the  spring  of  lOOS.  Popham  was  the 
tirst  English  magistrate  in  Xew  England. 

blather  attributes  the  failure  of  attempts  to  colonize  the  parts  of  Xew 
Euiiluml  north  of  I'lymouth  to  their  being  founded  upon  the  advavicenient 
of  worldly  interests.  "A  constant  series  of  disasters  has  confounded  them," 
avers  the  witch-hating  old  divine.  One  minister,  he  says,  M'as  exhorting  the 
eastern  settlers  to  bo  more  religious,  putting  the  case  to  them  much  in  this 
way,  wlien  a  voice  from  the  congregation  cried  out,  "Sir,  you  are  mistaken; 
you  think  you  are  preaching  to  the  people  ol  the  Bay.  Our  main  end  was  to 
catch  fish." 

"Did  you  ever  see  Cotton  Matiicr's  'History  of  Xew  England?' — one  of 
the  oddest  books  I  ever  perused,  but  deeply  interesting."  The  question  is 
put  by  Southey,  and  I  repeat  it,  as,  if  you  have  not  read  ^Lather's  "^fagnalia 
Cliristi  Americana,"  you  have  not  seen  the  corner-stone  of  Xew  England  his- 
torical and  ecclesiastical  literature. 

Apropos  of  the  immigration  into  Xew  England,  it  was  openly  bruited  in 
Ennhiud  that  King  Charles  I.  would  have  been  glad  if  the  thousands  who 
went,  over  were  drowned  in  the  sea.     Between  the  years  1028  and  1G35  the 


'  Soe  Lescnrbot,  p.  407.  "  Htrachcy.     Gorges  smvs  August  8lh  ;  Sniitli,  August  lltli. 

A  fly-boat,  tlio  Gift  of  God,  Georgo  I'ophain ;  Manj  and  Juhn,  of  Loudon,  Kaleigh  Gilbert. 


94 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


oxoclns  was  very  great,  and  gave  tlie  king  much  displeasure.  No  one  was 
permitted  to  remove  witliout  the  royal  permission.  Even  young  Harry  Yaiiu 
had  to  solicit  the  good  offices  of  his  iather,  Sir  Harry,  to  obtain  a  pass.      He 

was  then  out  of  favor 
at  court  and  at  hoiiie, 
through  his  Geneva  no- 
tions about  kneeling  to 
receive  tiie  Sacrament, 
and  other  Puritan  ideas. 
"Let  him  go,"  growls  an 
old  writer;  "has  not  Sir 
Harry  other  sons  but 
lim?" 

The  colony  of  Popham 
besxan  better  tlian  it  eml- 
A  fort,  doubtless  no 
more  than  a  jialisade  witli 
platforms  for  guns,  was 
mai'ked  out.  A  trencli 
was  dug  about  it,  ami 
twelve  pieces  of  ordnance 
were  mounted.  Within 
its  protection  fifty  lionscs, 
be!^ides  a  church  and  stort'- 
house,  were  built.  The 
carpenters  fi'amed  a"  pryt- 
ty    pynnace"    of    thirty 

COTTON    MATIIUU.  '  i   •    i         ^i  i     •' 

tons,  which  tliey  cluis- 
tened  tho  Vh'ginia.     There  is  no  earlier  record  of  sldp-building  in  Alaine. 

Tlie  tenacity  of  the  Englisli  cliaracter  has  become  ])roverbiaI.  Neverthe- 
less, the  oj)inion  is  liazarded  that  no  nation  so  ill  accommodates  itself  to  a  now 
country.  The  P^nglish  colonies  of  Virginia,  New  England,  and  Jamaica  are 
striking  examples  ofba'renness  of  resource  when  confronted  with  unforeseen 
privations.  The  Frenchman,  on  the  contrarj',  possesses  in  an  eminent  degree 
the  capacity  to  adapt  himself  to  strange  scenes  and  nnaccustomed  modes  of 
life.  Every  thing  is  made  to  contribute  to  his  wants.  Let  the  reader  con 
suit,  if  he  will,  the  cam])aign  of  the  Crimea,  where  thousands  of  P]nglish  sol- 
diers gave  way  to  hardsliips  unknowMi  in  the  French  camps.  The  elastic 
gayety  of  the  one  is  in  contrast  with  the  gloomy  despondency  of  the  other, 
The  Popham  colony  abandoned  a  well-matured,  ably-seconded  design  through 
dread  of  a  New  England  winter  and  through  homesickness.  Cleai'ly  it  was 
not  of 'lie  stuff  to  found  a  Stale. 

The  previous  winter  was  passed  by  the  French  at  their  new  settlement  of 


rKMAtiUlI)  roiNT. 


95 


Port  Royal,  coniineiiced  within  two  years.  Tiie  seasons  of  1605  and  of  1000 
wdv  extremely  rigorous.  Tiie  colony  of  Do  Monts  went  through  the  first 
ill  ruile  cabins,  hastily  constructed,  on  the  island  of  St.  Croix.  The  next 
jiutuiiui  the  settlement  was  transferred  to  Po,t  Koyal.  Winter  found  them 
(loniiiiied  in  their  new  quarters  under  no  better  roofs  than  they  had  quitted. 
Tliniiu,li  their  leadei',  Du  Guast,  had  left  them,  they  were  animated  by  an  irre- 
pressible spirit  of  fun,  altogether  French.  They  made  roads  through  the 
forest,  or  joined  with  the  Indians  in  hunting-parties,  managing  these  native 
Aiuerioans  with  an  address  that  won  their  coniidence  and  good  help. 


ANCIKNT    I'EJtAQril). 

Finally,  at  the  suggestion  of  Champlain,  in  order  to  keep  up  an  unflagging 
'^(iixl -fellowship,  and  to  rentier  themselves  free  of  all  anxiety  on  the  subject  of 
provisions,  the  ever-famous  "L'Ordre  de  Bon  Temj)s"  was  inaugurated.  It 
is  tk'serving  of  remembrance  along  with  the  coterie  of  the  Knights  of  the 
KouihI  Table. 

Once  in  fifteen  days  each  member  of  the  order  ofHciated  as  maitre  iVhotel 
of  l)e  Poutrincourt's  table,  it  was  his  care  on  that  day  that  his  comrades 
^lumld  be  well  tiud  honorably  entertained  ;  and  although,  as  the  old  chronicler 
i|uaintly  says,  "our  gourmands  often  reminded  us  that  we  were  not  in  the 
lliw  <nix  Ours  at  Paris,  yet  so  well  was  the  rule  observed  that  we  ordinarily 
iiiiide  as  good  cheer  as  we  should  have  known  how  to  do  in  the  line  ati,v 
Ours,  and  at  less  cost." 

There  was  not  a  fellow  of  the  order  who,  two  days  before  his  turn  came, 
<li(l  not  absent  himself  until  he  could  return  with  some  delicacy  to  add  to 
tluir  ordinary  fare.  They  had  always  fish  or  flesh  at  breakfast,  and  were 
iii-'ver  without  one  or  both  at  the  repasts  of  noon  aiirl  evening.  It  became 
tlii'ir  great  festival. 

The  steward,  or  nxilfre  iVIiotd^  having  caused  all  things  to  be  tuade  ready, 
iiKirclied  with  his  najikin  on  his  shoidder,  his  staff  of  office  in  his  hand,  and 
the  collar  of  the  order,  that  we  are  tohl  was  worth  more  than  four  French 
crowns,  about  his  neck.  IJehind  him  walked  the  brothers  of  the  order,  each 
one  bearing  his  plate.     In  the  evening,  after  giving  thanks  to  God,  the  host 


06 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


of  tlio  (lay  resigned  the  collar  to  his  successor,  each  pleilging  the  other  in  a 
glass  of  wine. 

On  such  occasions  they  IkuI  always  twenty  or  thirty  savages — men,  w^mi- 
en,  and  children — looking  on.  To  these  they  gave  bread  from  the  table;  but 
when,  as  was  often  the  case,  the  sagamores — those  lierce,  intractable  barba- 
rians— j>resented  themselves,  ihcy  were,  says  Lescarbut,  "at  table  eating  iiml 
drinking  like  us,  and  we  right  glad  to  see  them,  as,  on  the  contrary,  their  ab- 
sence would  have  made  us  sorry." 

At  Pemaquid  we  enter  the  domain  of  Samoset,  that  chivalric  New  Kii- 
glander  whom  historians  delight  to  honor.  He  was  !i  sagamore  without 
guile.  Chronologically  speaking,  lie  should  first  appear  at  Plymouth,  in 
the  act  of  ort'erinii;  to  those  doubting  Pilgrims  the  i'ii>ht  hand  of  fellowshii), 
He  told  them  he  was  sagamore  of  JNlorattigon,  distant  from  Plymouth  "a 

daye's  sayle  with  a  groat 
Avind,  and  five  dayes  by 
laud."  In  1G23  he  ex- 
tended a  kindly  rccc'i- 
tion  to  Christopher  J.ev- 
ett,  to  whom  lie  ])rotVei(Hl 
a  friendship,  to  continue 
until  the  Great  Spirit  car- 
ried  them  to  his  wigwam. 
All  the  old  writers  speak 
well  of  Samoset,  whom 
we  call  a  savage.' 

I  next  visited  the  lit- 
tle point  of  land  on  which 
are  the  ruins  of  old  Fi>rt 
Frederick.  Little  diffi- 
culty is  experienced  in 
retracing  the  exterior 
and  interior  lines  of  a 
fortress  designed  as  tlie 
strongest  bulwark  of  Mii- 
glish  power  in  New  Imi- 
gland.  It  Was  built  upon  a  green  slope,  above  a  rocky  shore,  commandiuLt 
the  approach  from  the  sea;  but  was  itself  dominated  by  the  heights  of  iIk' 
western  shore  of  John's  River,  a  circumstance  that  did  iu)t  escape  the  notict' 
of  D'Ibervillc  in  1090.     At  the  south-east  angle  of  the  work  is  a  high  rork, 


CHARLEVOIX. 


'  Samoset,  in  1025,  sold  Pemaquid  to  John  Brown.  His  sign-manual  was  a  bended  bow.  witli 
an  anoiv  lifted  to  tlie  string.  The  deed  to  Brown  also  fixes  tha  residence,  at  I'eniivquid,  of  iVlu'U- 
ham  Siiurt,  agent  of  Elbridge  and  Aldwortli,  in  tiie  jear  1020. 


PEMAQUIl)   I'OINT. 


9V 


e  ut- 
wliicli 
Fori 
(litti- 
od    ill 
tri'i'^i' 
of  ;i 
as  till' 
of  !mi- 
w  1mi- 
■inilin'i 
of  lln' 
notifi' 
1  rork, 


,,vcrcr''own  with  a  tanorle  of  climbiiifj  vines  and  slirnbs.  Tliis  rock  formoi;  a 
|i:irl  oi' tlio  old  matrazino,  and  is  now  tlio  conspitMious  feature  of  llio  ruint'd 
t'orlrcss.     A  proJL'C'ling  spur  of  tlie  opposite;  shore  was  called  "  tlie  Barbican." 

Tlie  importance  of  I'eniaipiid  as  a  clieck  to  Freiu!li  aggression  was  very 
trrcaf.  It  covered  the  apj)roaches  to  the  Kennebec,  the  Slieepscot,  Dainaris- 
coUa,  and  Peniaquid  rivers.  It  was  also,  being  at  their  doors,  a  standing  nu-n- 
ai;e  against  the  Indian  allies  of  tlie  French,  with  a  garrison  ready  to  lannch 
upon  their  villages,  or  intercept  the  advance  of  war  ]>arties  toward  the  New 
K/igland  settlements.  Its  presence  exasperated  the  .Vbemupiis,  on  whose  ter- 
ritory it  was,  beyond  measure :  the  French  found  them  ever  ready  to  secoud 
lirojccts  for  its  destruction. 

On  the  other  hand,  tlie  remoteness  of  Pemaquid  rendered  it  impracticable 
to  relieve  it  when  once  invested  by  an  enemy.  Only  a  few  leeblo  settl?ments 
skirled  the  sea-coast  between  it  ar.d  Casco  ]>ay,  so  the  same  causes  cojnbined 
to  render  it  botii  weak  and  formidable.  Old  Pentagoi't,  which  the  reader 
knows  for  Castine,  and  Peniaquid,  were  the  mailed  hands  of  each  nationality., 
always  clenched  ready  to  strike. 

The  fort  erected  at  Pemaquid  in  1077,  by  Governor  Andros,  was  a  wooden 
redoubt  mounting  two  guns,  with  an  outwork  liaving  two  bastions,  in  each 
of  which  were  two  great  guns,  and  another  at  the  gate.'  This  work  was 
named  Fort  Charles.     It  was  captured  and  destroyed  by  tiie  Indians  in  1089. 

Sir  William  Phips,  under  instructions  from  Whitehall,  built  a  new  fort  at 
I'eiiKUinid  in  1092,  which  he  called  William  Henry.  Captains  Wing  and  Ban- 
croft were  the  engineers,  the  work  being  completed  by  Cajitain  March.'''  The 
English  believed  it  im])regnable.  ]Mather,  who  says  it  was  the  finest  that 
IkuI  been  seen  iu  those  ]»arts  of  America,  has  a  signiticant  allusion  to  the  ar- 
cliilectof  a  fortress  in  Poland  whose  eyes  were  ]int  out  lest  he  should- build 
another  such.  From  this  vantage-ground  the  Knglish,  for  the  fifth  time,  ob- 
tained possession  of  Acadia. 

Ill  the  same  year  D'Iberville  made  a  demonstration  against  it  with  two 
French  frigates,  but  finding  an  English  vessel  anchored  under  the  walls,  aban- 
doned his  design,  to  the  chagrin  of  a  large  band  of  auxiliary  warriors  who 
liad  asst'iubled  under  Villebon,  and  who  now  vented  their  displeasure  by 
stamping  u])on  the  ground. 

Tiie  reduction  of  Fort  William  Henry  was  part  of  a  general  scheme  to 

'  "New  York  Coloninl  Documents,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  ^'>Ci.  Some  pviinilive  defensive  works  Imd  ex- 
isted MS  early  as  IGJIO,  rifled  in  1(;;'.2  hy  the  freebooter,  Dixy  Bull. 

■  It  was  of  stone ;  a  qiiadranj^le  seven  hmulred  and  tliirty-seveii  feet  in  compass  w  itliont  tlie 
outer  walls,  one  hnndrod  and  cif;lit  feet  scpiare  within  the  inner  ones  ;  pierced  with  emhrasures  for 
iwonty-eijijht  cannons,  and  nioiinting  fourteen,  six  being  eightecn-iiomulers.  The  south  wall  front- 
ing; tlie  sea  was  twenty-two  feet  high,  and  six  feet  thick  at  the  ports.  'l"he  great  flanker,  or  round 
tower,  iit  the  west  end  of  the  line  was  twenty-nine  feet  high.  It  stood  about  o.  score  of  rods  from 
liigli-water  mark.— M.\tiiki{,  vol.  ii.,  p.  537. 


08 


TIIK  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


(in- 
(111. 


FKENCn  FKIOATE,  SEVEXTEENTU  CENTUIIY. 


overrun  and  destroy  ilio 
Eiiolish  settlements  as 
i':ir  as  the  riscatiKiua. 
Tlie  English  were  t 
wiiriicd.  John  Nch 
of  lioston,  whose  l)io!,r. 
raphy  is  worth  the  writ- 
ing, was  then  a  prisoner 
at  Quebec.  Madocawan- 
do  was  also  tluTc,  in 
consultation  with  Count 
Frontenac.  Tlie  Aliu- 
naqui  chief,  dissalislitHl 
with  Ills  j)resents,  lifavc 
open  expression  of  his 
disgust  at  the  niggard- 
liness of  his  white  ally, 
Nelson  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  Indian 
tongue.  ITo  cajoled  the  chief  into  talking  of  his  projects,  and  as  soon  a- 
they  weie  in  his  possession  acted  like  a  man  of  decision.  lie  bribed  I,. 
Frenchmen  —  Arnaud  dii  Vignon  anil  Francis  Albert  —  to  carry  the  intelli- 
gence to  Boston.  On  their  return  to  Canada  both  were  shot,  and  Nelson  was 
sent  to  Fiance,  where  he  became  for  five  years  an  inmate  of  the  Hastile, 

The  life  of  John  Nelson  contains  all  the  I'eqiiisites  of  romance.  Althoiipii 
an  Episcopalian,  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  revolution  against  the  tyr- 
anny of  Andros.  A-s  a  prisoner,  lie  risked  his  own  life  to  acquaint  liis  country- 
men  with  the  dangers  that  menaced  them;  and  it  is  said  he  was  even  carried 
to  the  ]»iace  of  execution  along  with  his  detected  messengers.  The  Freiiili 
called  him  "  le  plus  audacieux  et  le  plus  aciiaine,''  in  the  design  of  conquering 
Canada.  Releasi'd  from  the  Bastile  on  his  parole,  after  visiting  England  lie 
returned  to  France  to  fulfill  its  conditions,  although  forbidden  to  do  so  by 
King  William.  A  man  of  address,  courage,  and  high  sense  of  lionor  was 
this  John  Nelson. 

In  1G9G,  a  second  and  more  successful  expedition  was  conducted  against 
Pemaqiiid.  In  August,  D'Iberville'  and  Bonaventure  sailed  with  the  royal 
order  to  attack  and  reduce  it.  "They  called  at  Pentagoet,  receiving  there  a 
re-enforcement  of  two  hundred  Indians,  who  embarked  in  their  canoes,  led  by 
St.  Castin.  On  the  l.lth  the  expedition  appeared  before  the  place,  antl  tliu 
next  day  it  was  invested. 


'  "  D'lliervDle,  monseigneur,  est  iin  tres  snge  gallon,  entreprennnt  et  qui  scuit  ce  qu'il  fau.  "— 
M.  Denonvii.le. 


I'EMAQUIl)  POINT. 


99 


D'Iberville  then 


HUTCHINSON. 


Il  \':V(.  - 


Fort  William  Ilcnry  was  then  coniniandoil  by  Captain  Pascho  Chubb,  with 
a  Lfanison  of  about  a  hundred  men.  Fifteen  pieces  of  artillery  were  in  posi- 
tion. Tilt'  Frencli  expected  an  obstinate  resistance,  as  the  place  was  well  able 
to  withstand  a  siege. 

Cliiibb,  on  being  summoned,  returned  a  defiant  answer. 
l){';^ai)  to  erect  liis  batteries.  The  account  of 
Clijuli'Voix  states  that  the  French  got  posp'^s- 
sioii  of  ten  or  twelve  stone  houses,  forming  a 
stirtt  leading  from  the  village  square  to  the 
fori.  They  then  intrenched  themselves,  partly 
at  the  cellar- door  of  the  house  next  the  fort, 
and  partly  beliiud  a  rock  on  the  sea-shore.  A 
second  demand  made  by  St.  Castin,  accomi)a- 
iiied  by  tlie  threat  that  if  the  place  were  assault- 
ed the  garrisou  might  expect  no  quarter,  de-  V  . 
cidcd  the  valiant  Ciiubb,  after  a  feeble  and  in- 
glorious defense,  to  surrender.  The  gates  were 
oiioned  to  tlie  besiegers. 

On  finding  an  Indian  in  irons  in  the  fortress, 
Castin''s  warriors  began  a  massacre  of  the  prisoners,  wliich  was  arrested  by 
tlicir  removal,  at  command  of  DTberville,  to  an  island,  where  they  were  pro- 
tected by  a  strong  guard  from  further  violence.  The  name  of  William  Henry 
lias  been  synonymous  with  disaster  to  colonial  strongholds.  The  massacre 
of  \151  at  Lake  George,  forever  infamous,  obscures  with  blood  the  fair  fame 
of  ]\rontcalm.  The  novelist  Cooper,  in  making  it  the  groumlwork  of  his 
"^loliicans,"  has  not  overstated  the  horrors  of  the  tragedy  enacted  by  the 
|ilacid  St.  Sacrament. 

Two  days  were  occupied  by  the  French  in  tlic  destruction  of  Pemaquid 
foit.  They  then  set  sail  for  St.  John's  Kiver,  narrowly  escaping  capture  by  a 
fleet  sent  from  Boston  in  pursuit.  The  French,  who  had  before  claimed  to  the 
Kennebec,  subsequently  established  ♦heir  boundary  of  Acadia  at  St.  George's 
Itiver. 

On  the  beach,  below  where  the  martello  tower  had  stood,  I  discovered 
many  fragments  of  bricks  ann)ng  the  rock  debris.  Some  of  these  wore  as  large 
us  were  commonly  used  in  the  hearths  of  our  most  ancient  houses.  The  arch 
hy  .vhich  the  tower  was  perhaps  supported  remained  nearly  intact,  though 
completely  concealed  by  a  thicket  formed  of  interweaving  shi'ubs.  Some 
have  conjectured  it  to  have  been  a  hiding-place  of  smugglers.  Fragments 
of  shot  and  shell  have  likewise  been  picked  up  among  the  rubbish  of  the  ohl 
fortress.  Not  far  from  the  spot  is  a  grave-yard,  in  which  time  and  neglect 
have  done  their  work. 

It  has  been  attempted  to  show  that  a  large  and  populous  settlement  ex- 
isted from  a  very  early  time  at  Pemaquid,  with  paved  streets  and  some  of 


100 


THE  Ni:\V  ENGLAND  COAST. 


the  beloii-jfiiiiis  of  a  iii'riimiR'iit  popuhvlion.  Williiii  ;i  low  years  excavations 
have  been  luiule,  exhibiting  the  remains  of  pavement  of  beach-pebble  at  some 
distance  below  the  snrihce  of  the  gronnd. 

It  is  not  doubled  that  a  small  plantation  was  maintained  here  antecctlciit 
to  the  settlement  in  Massachusetts  Hay,  but  it  as  certainly  lacks  eonlirmati»iii 
that  it  liad  assumed  either  the  proportions  or  outward  appearance  of  a  well 
and  regularly  built  town  at  any  time  duiing  the  seventeenth  century.  If  it 
were  true,  as  Sullivan  states,  that  in  1030  there  were,  exclusive  of  iishernic!i, 
eighty-four  liimiliis  about  Sheepsc((t,  IVmacpiid,  and  St.  George's,  it  also  Itc- 
conies  important  to  know  by  what  nteans  these  settlements  were  depopulatid 
previous  to  the  Indian  wars. 

The  commissioners  of  Charles  II.,  sent  over  in  UiG5,  reported  that  U])on  tlic 
rivers  Ki-un  *  ee,  Sheepscot,  and  I'enuupiid  Wfri'  three  plantations,  the  largest 
containing  not  more  than  thirty  houses,  inhabited,  say  they,  "by  the  worst 
of  men."  Tiie  commissioners  gave  impartial  testimony  here,  lor  they  were 
trying  to  dispossess  Massachusetts  of  the  government  she  liad  assumed  over 
Maine  since  1052.  They  wrote  furtlier,  that  neither  Kittery,  York,  AVells*, 
Scarborough,  nor  Falmouth  had  more  than  thii'ty  houses,  and  those  mean  ones. 
Tills  was  the  entirety  of  the  grand  old  I'ine-tree  State  two  centuries  ago. 

Colonel  Itomer  had  recommended,  about  1099,  the  fortifying  anew  of  Pciii- 
iiquid,  and  the  building  of  supporting  works  at  the  next  point  of  land,  and  on 
riohn's  Island.  Nothing,  liowever,  ai)pears  to  liave  been  done  until  the  ;ir- 
rival  of  Colonel  David  Diuibar,  in  1  730,  to  resume  possession  of  the  Sagailii- 
iioc  territory  in  the  name  of  the  crown. 

Dunbar  repaired  the  old  works,  giving  them  the  name  of  Fort  Frederick. 
^Vt  Pennupiid  Point  he  laid  out  the  plan  of  a  city  which  he  divided  into  lots, 
inviting  settlers  to  rep()|)idate  the  country.  Old  grants  and  titles  were  con- 
sidered extinct.  Ilis  possession  at  Pemaquid  eoniiicting  with  the  Mnsco.igiis 
jiatent  Avas  revoked  through  the  efforts  of  Samuel  Waldo.  The  garrison  was 
replaced  by  ]\[assachusetts  troops,  and  the  so-called  Sagadahoc  teri'itory  an- 
nexed to  the  County  of  York.' 

"When  in  the  neighborhood,  the  visitor  will  feel  a  desire  to  inspect  the  ox- 
tensive  shell  heaps  of  the  Damariscotta,  about  a  mile  above  the  town  of  Ntu- 
castle.  They  occur  on  a  jutting  point  of  land,  in  such  masses  as  to  reseniblo 
low  chalk  cliffs  of  guano  dejjosits.  The  shells  are  of  the  oyster,  now  no  long- 
er native  in  New  England  waters,  but  once  abundant,  as  these  and  other  re- 
mains testify.  The  highest  point  of  the  bank  is  twenty-fi\e  feet  above  tlie 
river.     The  deposits  are  rather  more  than  a  hundred  rods  in  length,  willi  .'i 

'  As  it  is  inconsistent  witli  tlie  purpose  and  limits  of  tlicse  cliapters  to  fjive  flic  dotiiil  ol'  iliin- 
ters,  patents,  and  titles  In-  which  Pemaquid  lias  acquired  much  historical  ])ioniinence,  tlio  readei 
may,  in  addition  to  authorities  named  in  the  text,  consult  Thornton's  "Ancient  Pemaquid,  "vol.  v, 
'"Maine  Historical  Collections;"  Johnston's  "Bristol,  Bremen,  and  reniaquid  ;"  Hough's  '•Pem- 
aquid I'ujiers,"  etc. 


PEMAQIII)   roiNT. 


101 


lif  ox- 

Nuw- 

ciiil)k' 

long- 

icr  ve- 

•c  tlie 

villi  !l 

•,(  rluir- 

nMilei 

'  vol.  V, 

••I'em- 

\:iii;ililo  width  of  from  eighty  to  a  liumlrcd  rods.  The  shells  lie  in  regubr 
liivcrs,  bleached  by  sun  and  weatlier.  j\tnoiig  the  many  naturalists  who 
lijivc  visited  llu-in  may  be  named  Dr.  Charles  T.  Jaekson,'  and  Prolessor  Cliad- 
bdiiiiie,  of  l>o\vd('in  College.  Some  animal  remains  I'uiind  among  tlu!  shells 
wire  submitted  to  Agassi/,  who  concurred  in  the  received  opinion  that  the 
slulls  were  heaped  up  by  men. 

From  point  ti»  point  excavations  have  been  made  with  the  expectation  of 
finding  the  Indian  implements  wliicli  have  occasionally  rewarded  such  inves- 
ti'iiitions,  Williamson  mentions  a  tradition  tliat  hnnian  skeletons  had  been 
discovered  in  these  beds.  The  bones  of  animals  and  ol' birtls  have  been  found 
ill  tlieiii.  Situated  in  the  immediate  vicirdty  of  the  shell  deposits  is  a  kihi  for 
coiiveiting  the  shells  into  lime,  which  is  produced  of  as  good  quality  as  that 
obtained  from  limestone  rock. 

hi  walking  along  the  beach  at  low  tide,  I  had  an  excellent  opjiortunity 
of  surveying  these  remains.  A  considerable  growth  of  trees  had  sprung 
tiom  the  soil  collected  above  them,  the  roots  of  some  having  jjenetraled 
completely  through  the  superincumbent  shells  to  the  earth  beneath.  From 
iui  olisiTvalion  of  several  cavities  near  the  ■  .  'ace  and  in  the  sides  of  the 
oyster  baidis,  the  shells,  in  soi,  e  instances,  api)ear  to  have  been  subjected  to 
fire.  The  entire  stratum  was  in  a  state  of  decomposition  that  sutliciently  at- 
tests the  work  of  years.  Even  those  shells  lying  nearest  the  surface  in  most 
cases  crumbled  in  the  hands,  while  at  a  greater  depth  the  closely -packed 
valves  were  little  else  than  a  heap  oi  lime. 

The  shell  heaps  are  of  common  occurrence  all  along  the  coast.  The  read- 
er knows  them  for  the  feeding-places  of  the  hordes  preceding  European  civil- 
ization. Here  they  regaled  themselves  on  a  delicacy  that  disappeared  when 
lliey  vanished  from  the  land.  The  Indians  not  only  s.Ttisfied  ])resent  hun- 
ger, but  dried  the  oyster  for  winter  consumption.  Their  summer  camps  were 
pitched  in  the  neighborhood  of  well-known  oyster  deposits,  the  squaws  1  g 
occupied  in  gathering  shell-fish,  while  the  men  were  engage  . I  in  lishing  o.  in 
hunting. 

Josselyn  mentions  the  long-shelled  oysters  peculiar  to  these  deposits.  He 
notes  them  of  nine  inches  in  length  from  the  "joint  to  the  toe,  that  were  to 
be  cut  in  three  pieces  before  they  could  be  eaten."  Wood  professes  to  have 
seen  them  of  a  foot  in  length.  I  found  many  of  the  shells  here  of  six  inches 
in  length.  Winthrop  alludes  to  the  oyster  banks  of  ^Mystic  River,  Massachu- 
setts, that  impeded  its  navigation.  During  recent  dredgings  here  oyster- 
shells  of  six  to  eight  inches  in  length  were  frequently  brought  to  the  surface. 
The  problem  of  the  oyster's  disappearance  is  yet  to  be  solved." 

'  While  making  his  geological  survey  of  Maine. 

•  Williamson  mentions  the  heaps  on  the  eastern  bank,  not  so  high  as  on  the  western,  extenil- 
iiiS  buck  twenty  rods  from  the  river,  and  rendering  the  land  useless.  The  shell  heaps  of  Georgia 
iiiul  Klorida  are  more  extensive  than  any  in  New  England. 


'«-».   i*^e/i. 


r^n^ia^j, 


-•fr 


s, 


:*^' 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MOXHEiiAN     ISLAND.. 

"  From  gray  son-tog.  from  icy  drift, 
From  peril  ami  from  pain, 
The  lioine-bouml  fisher  greets  tliy  lights, 
Oh  himdrcil-Imrborcd  Maine!" 

WllITTIKU. 

^f"^IIE  most  fiuiioiis  isl:ui(l  you  fiiii  liml  on  the  New  Eiiolaiid  ninn  is  ^loiilio- 
-'-  gaii  Isliuul.  To  it  the  voyages  of  Weyinoiitlt,  of  pDphain,  and  of  Smith 
coiivcfge.  The  hitter  has  put  it  down  as  one  of  tlie  landmarks  oi' our  coast, 
Rosier  culls  it  an  excellent  landfall.  It  is  undoubtedly  3Ioidu'gan  that  is 
seen  on  the  oldest  charts  of  New  England.  Champlaiu,  mIiIi  the  same  apt- 
ness and  originality  recognized  in  Mount  Desei't  and  Isle  an  Ilaiit,  names  it 
La  Tortue.  Take  from  the  shelf  l^iadford,  Winthro)),  Priiu'e,  or  Ilubbaid, 
and  you  will  find  this  island  to  figure  conspicuously  in  their  pages.  Br.-hl- 
ford  says  starving  Plymouth  was  succored  from  Monhegan  as  early  as  l<J-2, 
The  Boston  colonists  of  1030  were  boarded  when  entering  Salem  by  a  Plyiii- 
outh  man,  going  about  his  business  at  Pemaquid.  English  fishing  ships  liov- 
ered  about  the  island  for  a  d  >zen  years  before  the  3I<n/JJon'er  swung  to  her 
anchorage  in  the  "  ice-riinnied  "  bay.  Tiie  embers  of  some  camp-fire  were  al- 
ways smoHldering  there. 

Sailing  once  from  Boston  on  a  Penobscot  steamboat,  a  few  hours  brought 
us  up  with  Cape  Ann.     I  asked  the  pilot  for  what  land  he  now  steered. 

"M'nhiggin." 

In  veturning,  the  boat  came  down  tlirough  the  iMussel  Ridge  Chamicl  like 
a  race-horse  over  a  well-beaten  course.  We  rounded  Monhegan  again,  and 
then  steered  by  the  compass.     JMonliegan  is  still  a  landmark. 

A  wintry  passage  is  not  always  to  be  commended,  especially  when  the 


MONIIEGAN   ISLAND. 


103 


J  I  ll  ■  I 

■ 

Mmii- 

liu\- 

; 

)    llCV 

ro  al- 

)U;ilit 

1  like 

,  iiixl 

1  the 

i 


Ailaiilic  j^t'ts  >in- 
inly.  Leaviiiij;  tlio 
w  li.ufoii  Olio  Wl'U- 
rciiii'inboreil  occa- 
•.ioii,  wo  stoaiiK'd 
.liiwii  tlio  b.'iy  ill 
siiiootli  wator  at 
ruprlfcii  iiiik's  ail 
lidiir.  All  on  board 
wi'ic  ill  possession 
di'  tlu'ir  ciistonia- 
rv  ('i|iii|toisc>.  Soon 
the  iioiio;  souikIcmI 
a  noisy  summons 
Id  sii]i|)or.  We 
iIi'sccihIi'iI.  Tlie 
caljiii  tables  were 
<|iiickly  oeciii>ie(l 
.  iiy  a  merry  com- 
|)aiiy  of  both  sex- 
I's.  Tiiere  was  a 
clatter  of  plates 
and  sharp  click- 
iiiuT  of  Iviiivos  and 
forks;  waiters  ran  i 
liither  and  tliitlier;    i 

tlie   buzz    of   con- 

I 

veisation  and  rip-   1- 

\i\v  of  suppressed 

lauiiliter  began  to  diffuse  themselves  witli  the  c;o  xl  cheer,  when,  suddenly, 

I  lie  boat,  inoiintiiig  u  sea,  fell  oft'  into  the  trougii  with  a  measured  movement 

that  thrilled  every  victim  of  old  Neptune  to  the  marrow. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  a  more  iiistantaiieoiis  metainorpliosis  than 
that  which  now  took  jilace.  Maidens  who  had  been  chatting-  or  wickedly  llirt- 
iiig,  laid  down  their  knives  and  forks  and  turned  pale  as  their  napkins.  Youths 
that  were  all  smiles  and  attention  to  some  adorable  coinpanion  suddenly  be- 
haved as  if  oblivious  of  her  presence.  Another  plunge  of  the  boat!  My  vis- 
d-ris^  an  old  gourmand,  had  intrenched  himself  behind  a  rampart  of  delicacies, 
lie  stops  short  in  the  act  of  carving  a  fowl,  and  reels  to  the  cabin  stairs.  Soon 
he  has  many  followers.  Wives  are  separated  from  husbands,  the  lover  de- 
sorts  his  mistress.  A  heavier  sea  lifts  the  bow,  and  goes  rolling  with  gath- 
i'i\'(l  volume  astern,  accompanied  by  the  crash  of  crockery  and  trembling  of 
the  chandeliers.     That  did  the  business.     The  commercial  traveler  who  told 


TlIATCIIEU'fl   ISLAM)   LUillT   AM)   iOli   SIGNAL.-*,  CAI'E   ANN. 


104 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


me  he  was  never  sea-sick  liiitl  down  tlie  morsel  he  was  in  the  act  of  convey- 
ing to  his  month.  lie  tried  to  look  unconcerned  as  lie;  stairgorcd  from  the 
tabk',  but  it  was  a  wretclied  failure.  Two  waiters,  each  bearing  a  well-ladeu 
trav,  were  sent  sliding  down  the  incline  to  the  leeward  side  of  the  cabin, 
where,  Coming  in  crashing  collision,  they  linally  deposited  their  burdens  in 
a  berth  in  winch  some  unfortunate  was  already  rei)osing.  All  except  a 
handful  of  well -seasoned  voyagers  sought  the  upper  cabins,  where  they  r- 
mained  pale  as  statues,  and  as  silent.  The  rows  of  deserted  seats,  unused 
plates,  the  joints  sent  away  untouched,  presented  a  melancholy  evidence  of 
the  triumph  of  matter  over  mind. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  made  out  ^lonhegan,  as  I  have  no  doubt  it  was 
descried  from  tl.j  mast-head  of  the  Arc/taii;/(/,  Weymouth's  ship,  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  years  ago.  The  sea  was  shrouded  in  vapor,  so  that  we  saw 
the  island  long  before  the  main-land  was  visible.  Sea-faring  people  call  t 
high  land  for  this  part  of  the  world. 

Near  the  westward  shore  of  the  southern  half  of  this  remarkable  island  is 
a  little  islet,  calle<l  Mananas,  which  forms  the  only  harbor  it  can  boast.  Ca})- 
tain  Smith  says,  "  Ik'tween  ^Nlonahiggon  and  Monanis  is  a  small  harbour,  \vheie 
we  rid."  The  entrance  is  considered  pi-acticable  only  from  the  south,  though 
the  captain  of  a  coasting  vessel  pointed  out  where  he  had  run  his  vessel 
through  the  ragged  reefs  that  shelter  the  northern  end,  and  saved  it.  It  was 
a  desperate  strait,  he  said,  and  the  by-standers  shook  their  heads,  in  thiiikin;if 
on  the  peril  of  t])e  attempt.' 

The  iidiabilants  are  hospitable,  and  many  even  well  to  do.  Their  harbor 
is  providentially  situated  for  vessels  that  are  forced  on  the  coast  in  heavy 
gales,  and  are  able  to  reacli  its  shelter.  At  such  times  exhausted  mariners 
are  sure  of  a  kind  reception,  every  house  opening  its  doors  to  relieve  their  dis- 
tresses. Having  all  the  requirements  of  snug  luirboring,  excellent  rock  fishing, 
with  room  enough  for  extended  rambling  up  and  down,  the  island  must  one 
day  become  a  resort  as  famous  as  the  Isles  of  Shoals.  At  present  there  is  a 
peculiar  flavor  of  originality  and  freshness  about  the  people,  who  are  as  yet 
free  from  the  money-getting  aptitudes  of  tlie  recognized  watering-])lace. 

George  Weymouth  made  his  anchorage  under  ^loidiegan  on  the  18th  of 
May,  1G05.  "It  appeared,"  says  Hosier,  "a  mean  liigh  land,  as  we  afterward 
tbund  it,  being  an  island  of  some  six  miles  in  compass,  but,  I  liope,  the  most 
fortunate  ever  yet  discovered.     About  twelve  o'clock  that  day,  we  came  to 


^;i\v  a! 
iKTrie? 
forth 
upon  I 

1  f)( 

iuiclinr 
adjoiiii 
three 

Ire 
found  i 
l;nid. 
of sca-c 
Islands, 
Mere  tli 

Wej 
order  t( 
natural 
loadston 

to  captu 

friendslii 

Ihit  ( 

ing  five 

ciivinnsti 

K'ast  twc 

the  next 

tale  these 

Some 

inscriptio 


'  Monlicgan  lies  nine  miles  south  of  the  George's  group,  twelve  south-enst  from  Pemntinid,  and 
nine  west  of  Metinic.  It  contains  njjward  of  one  tlionsnnd  iUM'cs  of  land.  According  to  Wiiiiiiin- 
son,  it  liad,  in  ls;52,  about  one  hundred  inhahitants,  twelve  or  fourteen  dwellings,  and  a  schoul- 
liouse.  Tlie  able-bodied  men  were  engaged  in  the  IJiink  fishery ;  the  elders  and  hoys  in  tendiii^; 
the  Hocks  and  tilling  the  soil.  At  that  time  there  was  not  an  olHcer  of  any  kind  upon  the  islanil: 
not  even  a  justice  of  the  jjcace.  The  peo]ile  governed  themselves  according  to  local  usage,  ami 
were  strangers  to  taxation.     A  light-house  was  built  on  the  island  in  1824:. 


MONIIEGAN    ISLAND. 


105 


rbor 
'avy 

ilUMS 

ais- 

OIK' 

is  ;i 

yet 

1  of 
ward 

lie  to 

i],  ami 
illiniii- 

;clliii'l- 
sliiiwl : 

lU\ll 


i 


an  anchor  on  the  nortli  side  of  this  ishuul,  about  a  leai^iie  fro.n  the  sliore. 
About  two  o'clock  our  captain  with  twelve  men  rowed  in  his  ship-boat  to 
the  shore,  where  we  made  no  long  stay,  but  laded  our  boat  with  dry  wood 
of  old  trees  upon  tlie  shore  side,  and  returned  to  our  ship,  wliere  we  rode 
that,  night."     *     *     * 

"Tliis  island  is  woody,  grown  with  fir,  birch,  oal<,  and  beech,  as  far  as  we 
>ia\v  along  the  shore;  ami  so  likely  to  be  within.  On  the  verge  grow  goose- 
berries, strawberries,  wild  pease,  and  wild  rose-bushes.  The  water  issued 
forth  down  the  cliffs  in  many  jjlaces;  and  mucli  fowl  of  divers  kinds  breeds 
iil)on  the  shore  and  rocks." 

The  main-land  possessed  greater  attraction  for  Weymouth.  Tiiinking  his 
anchorage  insecure,  he  brought  his  vessel  the  next  day  to  tiu!  islands  "more 
adjoining  to  the  main,  and  in  the  road  directly  witli  the  mountains,  about 
three  U-agues  from  the  island  where  he  had  first  anchored." 

I  read  this  description  wliile  standing  on  tlie  deck  of  the  JvtUalidln,  and 
found  it  to  answer  admirably  the  conditions  under  which  I  then  surVt^yed  the 
land.  We  were  near  enough  to  make  out  tlie  varied  features  of  a  long  line 
of  sea-coast  stretciiing  northward  for  many  a  mile.  Tiiere  were  St.  George's 
Islands,  three  leagues  distant,  and  more  adjoining  to  the  main.  And  there 
MiM'e  the  Camden  ^SFountains  in  tlie  distance.' 

Weymouth  landed  at  Pemaipiid,  and  traded  witli  the  Indians  there.  In 
order  to  impress  them  with  the  belief  that  he  and  Ids  comrades  were  super- 
natural beings,  he  caused  his  own  and  1  {osier's  swords  to  be  touched  with  the 
loadstoiu>,  and  then  with  the  blades  took  up  knives  and  needles,  much  mys- 
tifying the  simple  savages  with  his  jugglery.  It  took,  however,  si.x  whites 
to  capture  two  of  the  natives,  unarmed  aiul  thrown  off  their  ginird  by  feigned 
friendship. 

I>ut  one  compensation  can  be  found  for  Weymouth's  treachery  in  kidnap- 
ing live  Indians  liere,  and  that  is  in  the  assertion  of  Sir  F.  Gorges  that  this 
I'ircmnstance  first  directed  his  attention  to  New  England  colonization.  At 
kast  two  of  the  captive  Indians  found  their  way  back  again.  One  returned 
the  next  year;  another — Skitwarres — came  over  with  Popliaui.  A  strange 
tale  these  savages  must  have  told  of  their  adventures  bevond  seas.^ 

Some  credence  has  been  given  to  the  report  of  the  existence  of  a  rock 
inscription  on  Monhegan   Island,  supposed  by  some  to  be  a  reminiscence 

'  A  good  niimy  arguments  niiiy  be  found  in  tlv  "  Collections  of  the  Afaine  Historical  Society  " 
ns  to  wiietiier  Woyinonrli  ascended  tiio  Penobscot  or  tlie  Kennebec.  All  assunio  Moidiegan  to 
liave  been  tbe  first  ishnul  seen.  Tbis  being  conceded,  tbe  landmarks  gvaw  in  tlie  te.\t  follow, 
witlioiit  reasonable  ground  for  controversy. 

''  111  Hi07  Wcyinoiitb  was  granted  a  pension  of  tbree  shillings  ::.\  fourpence  per  diem.  iSmitli 
was  at  Monbegan  in  Kllt,  (Captain  Dermer  in  Kit!),  ami  some  mutineers  from  Kocroft's  ship  bad 
passeii  the  winter  of  IGlS-'l'J  there.  Tbe  existence  of  a  small  i)lantation  is  ascertained  in  1G22. 
Ill  l(;j()  the  island  was  sold  to  Giles  Elbridge  and  Robert  Aldworth  for  fifty  pounds. 


106 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


of  the  Northmen.  The  Society  of  Xortliern  Antiquaries  of  Copenliagen  lias 
reproduced  it  in  tlieir  printed  proceedings.  The  best  informed  American 
anticpiaries  do  not  believe  it  to  possess  any  arclia?ological  significance.  I 
also  heard  of  another  of  the  "devil's  foot-prints"  on  Mananas,  but  did  not 
see  it. 

Between  Monhegan  o"d  Pemaquid  Point  was  the  scene  of  the  sea-fi^lit 
between  the  J'jiiterprlst,  and  Jioxer.  Some  of  the  particulars  I  shall  relate  I 
had  of  eye-witnesses  of  the  battle. 

In  September,  1814,  the  American  brig  Enterprise  quitted  Portsmoiuli 
roads.  She  had  seen  service  in  the  wais  witli  the  French  Directory  and 
with  Algiers.  She  had  been  rebuilt  in  1811,  and  had  already  gained  tlic 
name  of  a  lucky  vessel.  Her  cruising-ground  was  along  the  Maine  coast, 
where  a  sharp  lookout  was  to  be  kept  for  privateers  coming  out  of  the  cue- 
iny\i  ports.  In  times  past  her  commanders  were  such  men  as  Sterrett,  Hull, 
Decatur,  and  JJIakely,  in  whom  was  no  more  flinching  than  in  the  mainmast. 

Lieutenant  IbuMows,  who  now  took  lier  to  sea,  had  been  first  officer  ot'a 
naereiiant  ship  antl  a  prisoner  to  the  enemy.  As  soon  as  exchanged  he  was 
given  the  command  of  the  Enterprise.  He  was  a  good  seaman,  bound  \\\>  in 
his  profession,  and  tlie  darling  of  the  common  sailors.  Taciturn  and  misan- 
thropic among  equals,  he  liked  to  disguise  himself  in  a  pea-jacket  and  visit 
the  low  haunts  of  his  shipmates.  It  was  believed  lie  would  be  killed  sonnt'r 
than  surrender. 

The  Boxer  had  been  fitted  out  at  St.  Johns  with  a  view  of  meeting  ami 
fighting  the  Enterprise.  Evei-y  care  that  experiiMice  and  seamanshij)  coiiM 
suggest  had  been  bestowed  upon  her  ecpiipment.  She  M'as,  moreover,  a  new 
and  strong  vessel.  In  armament  and  crews  the  two  vessels  were  about  equal 
the  inferiority,  if  any,  being  on  tiie  side  of  the  American.  The  two  brigs  avovp, 
in  fact,  as  equally  matched  as  could  well  be.  Tliey  were  prepared,  rubbed 
down,  and  polished  off,  like  pugili>:ts  by  their  respective  trainers.  Tiiey  wcro 
in  quest  of  eaeli  other.  The  conquered,  however,  attributed  their  defeat  to 
every  cause  but  the  true  one,  namely,  that  of  being  beaten  in  a  fair  fight  on 
their  favorite  element. 

The  Hoxer,  after  worryir.g  the  fisliermen,  and  keeping  the  sea-coast  vil- 
lages in  continual  alarm,  dropped  anchor  in  Pemaquid  Hay  on  Saturday,  Sep- 
tember 4th,  1814.  Tiiere  was  then  a  small  militia  guard  in  old  Fort  Fivdcr- 
ick.  The  inhabitants  of  Pemaquid  Point,  fearing  an  attack,  witiidrew  into 
the  woods,  where  they  heard  at  evening  the  music  played  on  board  the  ene- 
my's cruiser. 

The  next  morning,  a  peaceful  Sabbath,  tlie  lookout  of  the  Boxer  made  out 
the  Enterj)rise  coming  down  from  the  westward  with  a  fair  wind.  In  an  in- 
stant the  l»riton's  decks  were  alive  with  men.  Sails  were  let  fall  and  sheet- 
ed liome  with  marvelous  cpnckness,  and  tlie  /io.irr,  with  every  rag  of  canvas 
spread,  stood  out  of  the  bay.    From  her  anchorage  to  the  westward  of  Joiin'!' 


MONIIEt  '.N  ISLAND. 


107 


Tslaiul,  the  Boxer,  at  she  got  under  way,  threw  several  shot  over  the  ishiiid 
into  tlie  tort  by  way  of  iarewcll.  Both  vessels  bore  off  the  land  about  three 
mill's,  when  they  stripped  to  fighting  canvas.  The  American,  being  to  wind- 
wanl,  had  the  weather-gage,  and,  after  taking  a  good  look  at  her  antagonist, 
hioiight  her  to  action  at  twenty  minutes  past  three  o'clock  in  tlie  afternoon. 
Anxious  spectators  crowded  the  shores;  but  after  the  first  broadsides,  for  the 
J(irty  minutes  the  action  continued,  nothing  could  be  seen  except  the  flashes 
(if  till'  guns;  both  vessels  were  enveloped  in  a  cloud.  At  length  the  firing 
slackened,  and  it  was  seen  the  Iioxer''s  maintop-mast  had  been  shot  away. 
Tiie  battle  was  decided. 

This  combat,  which  proved  fatal  to  both  commanders,  was,  for  the  time  it 
lasted,  desperately  contested.  The  Enterprise  returned  to  Portland,  with  the 
llitxw  in  company,  on  the  7th.  The  bodies  of  Captain  Samiu'l  IJlythe,  late 
coininander  of  the  English  brig,  and  of  Lieutenant  William  Burrows,  of  the 
EntefjiriKe,  were  brought  on  shore  draped  with  the  flags  each  had  so  bravely 
tlcfi'iulfd.  The  same  honors  were  paid  the  remains  of  each,  and  they  were  in- 
terred side  by  side  in  the  cemetery  at  Portland.  Blythe  had  been  one  of 
l»oi)r  Lawrence's  pall-bearers. 


(»KAVK.S   (Jr-  HUUUOW.S  AM>   lU.YTlIE,  rOKTI./VM). 

This  was  the  first  success  that  had  befallen  tl'o  American  navy  since  tlie 
loss  of  the  Chesapeake.  It  revived,  in  a  measure,  the  confidence  that  disaster 
had  shaken.  Tiio  Boxer  went  into  action  with  her  colors  nailed  to  the  mast — 
a  useless  bravado  that  no  doubt  cost  nipiiy  lives.  Her  ensign  is  now  among 
ilie  trophies  of  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  while  that  of  the  Enter- 
prise has  but  lately  been  reclaimed  from  among  the  forgotten  things  of  the 


\__ 


108 


THE  NEW   'ENGLAND  COAST. 


])!ist,  to  array  its  tattorocl  folds  beside  the  flags  of  the  Bonhommc  RicJuird 
and  of  Fort  M'lleiiry.' 

Among  the  recollections  of  his  "  Lost  Youth,"  the  author  of  "pA-angelino," 
a  native  of  Portland,  tells  us: 

"I  remember  tlic  sca-figlit  far  away, 

IIow  it  thiimlerod  o'er  the  tide! 
And  tlie  dead  caiitaiiis.  iis  llicy  lay 
In  their  graves  o'eil(X)king  the  traiKjuil  bay, 

Wliere  they  in  battle  died." 

'  This  flag  inspired  the  national  lytic,  "The  Star-spangled  Batitier." 


BUKUOWS'S  MEDAL. 


no, 


UOUGE,  UALI)    ill,  \!)   CLIFF. 


CIIAPTEn  VIII. 

FROM    WKLLS   TO    ()I,I)    YOUK. 

"A  sliipman  \v;is  tlierc,  woniietl  far  by  west; 
For  aught  I  wot,  he  was  of  Daniiriioiith." 

Chadckb. 

/"\NE  liot,  slumberous  morniuix  in  Ausjust  I  found  myself  in  the  town  of 
^'  Wells.  I  was  travelin<x,  as  New  Knglaiul  ouirbt  to  be  traversed  by  ev- 
ery young  man  of  average  health  and  active  habits,  on  foot,  and  at  leisure. 
.'vKiiig  the  beautiful  road  to  Old  York.  Now  "Wells,  as  Victor  Hugo  says  of 
H  village  in  ]»rittany,  is  not  a  town,  but  a  street,  stretching  for  tive  or  six 
t'liles  along  the  shore,  and  everywhere  commanding  an  extensive  and  uu- 
broken  ocean  view. 


110 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   COAST. 


Tlie  place  itself,  thouy;li  brisiliiig  with  history,  has  been  strippt'd  ot  its 
aritiqiu's,  and  is  in  appearauco  the  counterpart  ot"  a  score  of  neat,  thrifty  vil- 
lages of  my  acquaintance.  I  paused  for  j;  moment  at  the  site  of  the  Stoici- 
garrison,  in  which  Captain  Converse  made  so  manfid  a  defense  when  Fron- 
tenac,  in  1092,  let  slip  his  French  and  Indians  on  our  border  settlements.' 
Some  fi'agments  of  the  timbers  of  the  garrison  are  preserved  in  the  viciiiitv, 
one  of  which  I  saw  among  the  collections  of  a  village  antiquary.  In  the  an- 
nals of  Wells  the  names  of  John  Wheelwright  and  of  George  Burroughs  uc- 
cur,  the  former  celebrated  as  the  founder  of  Exeter,  the  latter  a  victim  of  the 
witchcraft  horror  of '92. 

John  Wheelwright,  the  classmate  and  friend  of  Cromwell,  fills  a  hu-^a' 
space  in  the  early  history  of  the  Bay  Colony.  A  fugitive,  like  John  Cotton, 
from  the  persecutions  of  Laud,  he  came  to  15oston  in  1G;30,  and  became  tlic 
pastor  of  a  church  at  Braintree,  then  forming  ))art  of  Boston.  He  was  tin- 
brother-in-law  of  the  famous  Ami  Hutchinson,  who  was  near  creating  a  revo- 
lution in  Wiuthrop's  government,"  and  shared  her  Antinomian  opinions.  For 
this  he  was  banished,  and  became  the  founder  of  Exeter  in  1038.  In  104:i, 
Massachusetts  having  claimed  jurisdiction  over  that  town.  Wheelwright  re- 
moved to  Wells,  where  he  remained  two  years.  Becoming  reconciled  to  the 
Massachusetts  government,  lie  removed  to  Hampton,  was  in  England  in  1057, 
returning  to  New  England  in  1C60.  He  became  pastor  of  the  church  in  Salis- 
bury, and  died  there  in  1679;  but  the  place  of  his  burial,  Allen  says,  is  not 
known.  He  was  the  oldest  minister  in  the  colony  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
and  a  man  of  pronounced  character.  Tiie  settlement  of  the  island  ofBliotk' 
Island  occurred  through  the  removal  of  William  Coddington  and  others  at 
the  same  time,  and  for  the  same  reasons  that  caused  the  expulsion  of  Wheel- 
wright from  Boston,  as  Roger  Williams  had  been  expelled  from  Salem  seven 
years  before. 

"Wheelwright's  Deed"  has  been  the  subject  of  a  long  and  animated  con- 
troversy among  antiquaries ;  some,  like  Mr.  Savage,  pronouncing  it  a  forgery 
because  it  is  dated  in  1029,  the  year  before  the  settlement  of  Boston.  Tiiis 
deed  was  a  conveyance  from  the  Indian  sagamores  to  Wheelwright  of  tlie 
land  on  which  stands  the  flourishing  town  of  Exeter;  and  although  copies  of 
it  have  been  recorded  in  several  j)laces,  the  original  long  ago  disappeared. 
Cotton  jNIather,  who  saw  it,  testifies  to  its  appearance  of  antiquity,  and  tlie 
advocates  of  its  validity  do  not  appear  as  yet  to  have  the  worst  of  the  argu- 
ment,' 


'  Colonel  Stoter  kept  up  the  stockades  and  one  or  more  of  the  flaukarts  until  after  the  year 
1700.  as  a  memorial  rather  tlian  a  defense. 

"  This  relationshii)  is  dispnteil  hy  Mr.  Joseph  L.  Chester,  the  eminent  antiquary.  Winthiop.  it 
woidd  seem,  oiiglit  to  have  known ;  Eliot  and  Allen  repeat  the  authority,  the  latter  giving  tlie  full 
name  of  Mary  Hutchinson. 

'  IJoih  sides  have  l)een  jihly  presented  hy  Dr.  N.  Boiiton  a!id  Hon.  Charles  II.  Bell. 


FROM  WELI.S  TO  OLD  YORK. 


N 


111 


of  tlic 


tlie  veai 


George  Burroughs,  who  fell  fighting  against  terrorism ;0n  Gallows  Hill — 
a  single  spot  may  claim  in  New  England  the  terrible  distinction  of  this  name 
—  was,  if  tradition  sa\'s  truly,  apprehended  by  officers  of 'the  Bloody  C.'ouncil 
at  the  church  door,  as  he  was  leaving  it  after  divine  service.  A  little  dark 
man,  and  an  athlete,  whose  muscular  strength  was  turned  against  him  to  fa- 
tal account.  An  Indiai!,  at  Falmouth,  lia<l  held  out  a  heavy  fowling-piece  at 
urins- length  by  simply  thrusting  his  finger  in  at  the  muzzle.  Poor  Bur- 
roiiLihs,  who  would  not  stand  by  and  see  an  Englishman  outdone  by  a  red- 
skin, repeated  the  feat  on  the  sjiot,  and  this  was  the  most  ruinous  piece  of 
(•vi<leuce  brought  forth  at  his  trial.  A  man  could  not  be  strong  then,  or  the 
devil  was  in  it. 

The  road  was  good,  and  the  way  plain.  As  the  shores  are  for  some  miles 
intersected  by  creeks  intrenched  behind  sandy  downs,  the  rorte  follows  a 
level  shelf  along  the  high  land.  There  are  i)leasant  strii)S  of  beach,  where 
tlio  sea  bnaks  noiselessly  when  the  wind  is  off  shore,  but  where  it  comes 
tlnnulering  in  when  driven  before  a  north-east  gale.  Kow  and  then  a  vessel 
is  embayed  here  in  thick  weather,  or,  failing  to  make  due  allowance  for  the 
strong  drift  to  the  westward,  is  set  bodily  on  these  sands,  as  the  fishermen 
say,  "all  standing."  While  I  was  in  the  neighborhood  no  less  than  three 
came  ashore  within  a  few  hours  of  each  other.  The  first,  a  timber  vessel, 
missing  her  course  a  little,  went  on  the  beach  ;  but  at  the  next  tide,  by  carry- 
ing an  anchor  into  deep  water  and  kedging,  she  was  tloated  again.  Another 
luckless  craft  struck  on  the  rocks  within  half  a  mile  of  the  first,  and  became 
a  wreck,  the  crew  owing  their  lives  to  a  smooth  sea.  The  third,  a  Bank 
tisherniau,  was  left  by  the  ebb  high  up  on  a  dangerous  reef,  with  a  hole  in 
her  bottom.  She  was  abandoned  to  the  underwriters,  ami  sold  for  a  few  dol- 
lars. To  the  surprise  even  of  the  knowing  ones,  the  shrewd  Yankee  who 
bought  her  succeeded  at  low  tide  in  getting  some  empty  casks  into  her  hold, 
and  brought  her  into  port. 

Notwithstanding  these  sands  are  hard  and  firm  as  a  granite  floor,  they  are 
sid)ject  to  shiftings  which  at  first  appear  almost  unaccountable.  Many  years 
an'o,  while  sauntering  along  the  beach,  I  came  across  the  timbers  of  a  strand- 
ed vessel.  So  deeply  were  they  imbedded  in  the  sand,  that  they  had  the  ap- 
pearance rather  of  formidable  rows  of  teeth  belonging  to  some  antique  sea- 
monster  than  of  the  work  of  human  hands,  llow  long  the  wreck  hatl  lain  there 
no  one  could  say  ;  but  at  intervals  it  disappeared  beneath  the  sands,  to  come 
to  the  surface  again.  I  have  often  walked  over  the  spot  where  it  lay  buried 
out  of  sight;  and  yet,  after  the  lapse  of  years,  there  it  was  again,  like  a  grave 
that  would  not  remain  closed. 

A  i'{i\Y  years  ago,  an  English  vessel,  the  Clotilde,  went  ashore  on  Wells 
Beach,  and  remained  there  high  and  dry  for  nearly  a  year.  She  was  deeply 
laden  with  railway  iron,  and,  after  being  relieved  of  her  cargo,  was  success- 
fully launched.     During  the  time  the  ship  lay  on  the  beach,  she  became  so 


112 


TIIK  SEW   KXGLANl)  COAST. 


<;**^r^'  ,4 


Wl 


1)1.1)    \VI{i;<K.S    t)N    Tllli    lilC.VCII. 


decplj'  buviocT  in  the  saml  tliat  a  jicrson  luitilit  walk  on  lionnl  without  diffi- 
I'ulty.  "Ways  wove  built  undorucalh  Iilt,  ami,  after  a  terriblL'  wrt'uchinir,  ^lio 
was  got  artoat.  Hoavy  objects,  such  as  kegs  of  lead  paint,  and  even  ])igs  of 
iron,  have  been  exposed  by  the  action  of  the  waves,  after  having,  in  some  in- 
stances, been  twenty  years  under  tlie  surface.  I  have  picked  up  whole  bricks, 
lost  overboard  from  some  coaster,  that  have  come  ashore  with  their  edges 
smoothly  rounded  by  the  abrasion  of  the  sand  and  sea.  There  is  an  autlicn- 
tic  account  of  the  re-appearance  of  a  wrecked  shij/s  caboose  more  lh;iii  ;i 
liundred  and  seventy  years  after  her  loss  on  Cape  Cod.  After  a  heavy  east- 
erly gale,  the  beach  is  always  sprinkled  with  a  line,  dark  gravel,  which  disap- 
pears again  with  a  few  days  of  ordinary  weather. 

Besides  being  the  inexhaustible  resource  of  summer  idlers,  the  beach  lias 
its  practical  aspects.  The  sand,  line,  white,  and  "sharj),"  is  not  only  used  by 
builders — and  there  is  no  fear  of  exhausting  the  sui)|fly — but  is  hauled  away 
by  fivrmers  along  shore,  and  housed  in  their  barns  as  beddir^  for  cattle,  or  to 
mix  with  heavy  soils.  The  sea-weed  and  kelp  that  comes  ashore  in  such  vast 
(piantities  after  a  heavy  blow  is  carefully  harvested,  and  goes  to  enrich  tlic 
lands  with  its  lime  and  salt.  It  formerly  supplied  the  commercial  demand 
for  soda,  and  was  gathered  on  the  coasts  of  Ireland,  Scotlaiul,  France,  ami 
Spain  for  the  purpose.  -It  is  the  varec  of  Brittany  and  Normandy,  the  Man- 
ijuette  of  Frontignan  and  Aigues-mortes,  and  the  salicor  of  Narbonue.  Aftei' 
being  dried,  it  was  reduced  to  ashes  in  rude  furnaces.  Iodine  is  also  tlie 
product  of  sea-weed.  You  may  sometimes  see  at  high-water  mark  wiurows 
of  Irish  moss  {carrageen)  bleaching  in  the  sun,  though  for  my  blanc-mange  I 
give  the  preference  to  that  cast  up  on  the  shingle,  as  more  free  from  sand. 
This  plant  grows  oidy  on  the  farthest  ledges.  The  pebble  usually  heaped 
above  the  line  of  sand,  or  in  little  coves  among  the  ledges,  is  used  for  ballast, 
and  for  mending  roads  and  garden-walks.     Turning  to  the  sandy  waste  that 


FROM   WKIJ.S    I'O   OI.I)   YORK. 


113 


skirts  the  bead  ,1  scldoiii  i;iil  of  liiitliii}^  llie  bciich-pe.'i,  willi  its  be.'iulit'iil  blos- 
soms of  blue  and  jxirple.  In  si)riiig  the  vine  is  edible,  and  has  been  long 
used  lor  food  by  the  i)oorer  people. 

The  beach  is  much  fiecpiented  after  a  storm  by  crows  in  quest  of  a  dinner 
idfi'isco.  They  haunt  it  as  persistently  as  do  the  wreckers,  and  sehb)ni  fail 
of  fnidinii  a  stran(U'd  fish,  a  crab,  or  a  mussel.  They  are  the  self-ai)poiiit('d 
scavengers  of  the  strand,  renio\iiiL>;  inuch  of  the  otlal  cast  up  by  the  sea.  The 
crow  is  a  crafty  iellow,  and  knows  a  thiny,'  or  two,  as  I  have  had  icason  to 
(ihsorve.  The  l;iri>e  sea-mussel  is  nnich  attected  by  liim,  and  when  found  is 
at  once  pounced  upon.  Taking  it  in  his  talons,  the  crow  flies  to  the  nearest 
k'llgo  of  rocks,  and,  calculating  his  distance  witli  mathematical  eye,  lets  his 
]»rizv'  fall.  Of  course  the  mussel  is  dashed  in  pieces,  and  the  crow  proceeds 
to  make  a  frugal  meal.  I  have  seen  this  operation  fre(piently  repeated,  and 
have  as  often  scared  the  bird  from  his  repast  to  convince  myself  of  his  suc- 
cess. 

His  method  of^aking  the  clam  is  equally  ingenious.  lie  walks  upon  the 
dani-hauk  at  low  tide,  and  seizes  upon  the  lir^t  unlucky  hea<l  he  finds  pro- 
tnuling  from  the  shell.  Then  ensues  a  series  of  laughabie  efforts  on  the  crow's 
pan  to  rise  with  his  i>rey,  while  the  clam  tries  in  vain  to  draw  in  its  head. 
The  crow,  alter  many  sharp  tugs  and  much  llai»ping  of  his  wings,  finally  se- 
cures the  clam,  and  disposes  of  him  as  he  would  of  a  mussel.  Tiie  Indians, 
whose  chief  dependence  in  summer  was  upon  shell-fish,  complained  that  the 
English  swine  watched  the  receding  tide  as  their  women  were  accustomed  to 
ilo,  feeding  on  the  clams  they  turned  up  with  their  snouts. 

Ill  the  olden  time  the  beach  was  the  high-road  over  which  the  settlors 
traveled  when,  as  was  long  the  case,  it  was  their  only  way  of  safety.  It  was 
often  beset  with  danger;  so  much  so  that  tradition  says  the  mail  from  Ports- 
mouth to  Wells  was  for  seven  years  brought  by  a  dog,  the  pouch  being  at- 
tached to  his  collar.  This  faithful  messenger  was  at  last  killed  by  the  sav- 
.\(fes.  For  miles  around  this  bay  the  long-abandoned  King's  Highway  may 
be  traced  where  it  hugged  the  verge  of  the  shore,  climbing  the  rotighest 
iecliies,  or  crossing  from  one  beach  to  another  by  a  strip  of  shingle.  Here 
and  there  an  old  cellar  remains  to  identify  its  course  and  tell  of  the  stern 
lives  those  pioneers  led. 

When  the  tide  is  out,  T  also  keep  at  low-water  mark,  scrambling  over 
ledges,  or  delving  among  the  crannies  for  sitecimens.  It  does  not  take  long 
to  till  your  pockets  with  many-hued  peV)bles  of  quartz,  jasper,  or  porphyry 
that,  in  going  a  few  rods  farther,  you  are  sure  to  reject  for  others  more  brill- 
iuiit.  At  full  sea  I  Avalk  along  the  shore,  where,  from  between  those  envi- 
ous little  stone  walls,  I  can  still  survey  the  Unchanged. 

After  all  that  has  been  printed  sii\ce  the  "  Tractatus  Petri  Ilispani,"  it  is 
a  question  whether  there  are  not  as  many  popular  superstitions  to-day  among 
plain  Xew  England  country-folk  as  at  any  time  since  the  settlement  of  the 

8 


114 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


country.  Tlie  beliof  in  llio  virtuo  of  !i  liorsoshoe  is  Juiiibatud.  At  York  I 
saw  oiiu  iiJiiU'd  to  tlic  end  of  a  coaster's  bowsprit.  To  spill  salt,  brt-ak  a  look- 
ing-glass,  or  (Ircam  of  a  whito  horse,  are  still  ri'Ljardcd  as  of  sinister  au'^urv. 
A  toolli-|)iek  made  fn)ni  a  splinter  of  a  tree  that  has  been  struck  by  lightning 
is  a  sure  preventive  of  the  toothache.  K.\ceedin;j^  all  tliese,  however,  is  the 
ift'uerally  accepted  superstition  that  has  led  to  the  ))ractico  of  bathinLj  on 
Saco  Beach  on  the  LMUh  of  June  in  each  yeai'.  On  this  day,  it  is  reli<••ion^lv 
believed  that  the  waters,  like  ("'.iloauj  of  old,  have  miraculous  power  of  healim: 
all  diseases  with  which  humanity  is  aitiiclcil.  The  pcoph;  Hork  to  the  beach 
from  all  the  counti'y  round,  in  every  description  of  vehicle,  to  dip  in  the  en- 
chanted tide.  A  similar  helief  existed  with  re<j;ard  to  a  nu'dicinal  sprinu;  on 
the  River  Dee,  in  Scotland,  called  Jauuarich  Wells,  one  author  gravely  assert- 
\u<X  that  so  great  was  the  faith  in  its  etlicacv  that  those  afHicted  with  broken 
leits  have  gone  there  for  restoration  of  the  liud). 

1  have  found  it  always  inipractical)le  to  ai'gue  with  the  ])ilgrims  as  to  tlic 
grounds  of  their  belief.  They  are  leady  to  recount  any  number  of  wonder- 
ful cures  at  too  great  a  distance  for  my  investigation  to  reach,  and  may  not, 
therefore,  be  gainsaid.     It  is  a  custom. 

All  this  time  1  was  neariug  Oguiu]uit,  a  littli'  fishing  village  spliced  \i> 
tlie  outskirts  of  Wells,  l)eiiig  itself  within  the  limits  n{'  Y^^rk.  At  my  right 
1  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  green  bulk  of  Mount  Agamenticus,  and  on  tlie  oth- 
er hand,  almost  at  my  elhow,  was  the  sea.  So  we  luarched  on,  as  it  wore,  ai'ni 
in  arm;  for  I  was  begimdng  to  feel  pretty  well  ac(]uaiuted  with  a  companion 
that  kei)t  thus  constantly  at  my  side.  This  morning  it  was  Prussian  blue. 
which  it  ])resently  put  otF  for  a  warnu'r  hue.  Theie  it  lay,  sunning  itself, 
cool,  silent,  impenetrable,  like  a  great  blue  turquoise  on  the  bare  bosom  (*! 
Mother  Earth,  nor  looking  as  if  a  little  ruffling  of  its  surface  could  put  it  in 
such  a  towering  passion. 

My  sachel  always  contains  a  luncheon,  a  book,  and  a  telescopic  drinkiiii;- 
cup.  At  uoon,  having  left  eight  miles  of  road  behind  me,  I  sought  the  shel- 
ter of  a  tree  by  the  roadside,  and  founil  my  aj)petite  by  no  means  im|)aircil 
by  the  jaunt.  At  such  a  time  I  read,  like  Rousseau,  while  eating,  in  delluilt 
of  a  tete-a-tete.  I  alternately  devour  a  page  and  a  piece.  While  under  my 
tree,  a  cow  came  to  partake  of  the  shade,  of  which  there  was  enough  foi'  Ixitli 
of  us.  She  gazed  at  me  with  a  calm,  but,  as  I  conceived  also,  a  puzzled  look, 
ruminating  meanwhile,  or  stretching  out  her  head  and  snuffing  the  air  witliin 
a  foot  of  my  hand.  Perhaps  she  was  wondering  whether  I  had  two  stomaclis, 
and  a  tail  to  brush  off  the  tlics. 

From  the  village  of  Ogunquit  there  arc  two  roads.  I  chose  the  cue  which 
kept  the  shore,  in  order  to  take  in  my  way  Dal.l  Head  Cliff,  a  natural  ciirinv 
ity  well  worth  going  some  distance  to  see.  The  road  so  winds  across  tlic 
rocky  waste  on  which  the  village  is  in  ])art  built  that  in  some  places  you  al- 
most double  on  your  own  footsteps.     Occasionally  a  narrow  lane  isjBues  iiom 


I'liOM    WKLLS  Tt)   OLD   YOUK. 


115 


TiiioiMj;  the  ledj^os,  tumblinuj  ratlier  than  (loscciuliiii;  to  some  little  cove,  where 
von  caleh  a  «xliiiiiise  ot'browii-rool'ed  cottayes  and  a  lisliini^-boat  or  two,  snuf^- 
ly  moored.  Tlie  inhabitants  say  there  is  not  enonijli  soil  in  Ognncjnit  with 
wliitli  to  repair  the  roads,  a  statement  no  one  who  tries  it  with  a  vehiele  will 
l)c  incTined  to  dispnte.  Literally  the  honses  are  built  upon  rocks,  incnisted 
witli  yellow  liehens  in  roonj  of  grass.  Whcrevi-r  a  dip  occtirs  through  which 
!V  little  patch  of  blue  sea  peeps  out,  a  house  is  posted,  and  I  saw  a  ihw  care- 
Culh -tended  garden  spots  among  hollows  of  the  rock  in  which  a  hantlful  of 
mould  had  accumulated.  The  wintry  aspec^t  is  little  short  of  desolation : 
in  storms,  from  its  elevation  and  exposure,  the  place  receives  tin;  full  shock 
of  the  tempest,  as  you  may  see  by  the  weather-stained  appearance  of  the 
iioiises. 

A  native  directed  me  by  a  short  cut  "how  to  take  another  ox-bow  out  of 
the  road,"  and  in  a  few  minutes  T  stood  on  the  biow  of  the  clitf.  What  a 
sinlit !  The  eye  spans  twenty  miles  of  sea  horizon.  Wells,  with  its  while 
inoeting-houses  ami  slioie  hotels,  was  behind  nie.  Far  up  in  the  bight  of  the 
l);iy  (ireat  Hill  headland.  Hart's  and  Gooch's  beaches — the  latter  mere  rib- 
bons of  white  sand — gleamed  in  the  sunlight.  Kennebunkport  and  its  ship- 
vanls  lay  beneath  yonder  smoky  cloud,  with  Cape  Porpoise  Light  beyond. 
There,  below  me,  looking  as  if  it  had  Hoaled  oif  from  the  main,  was  the  barren 
rock  called  the  Nubble,  the  farthest  land  in  this  direction,  with  Cape  Nedd(>ck 
harbor  in  full  view.  All  the  rest  was  ocean.  The  mackerel  fleet  that  I  had 
seen  all  day — tifty  sail,  sixty,  yes,  and  more — was  off  Boon  Island,  with  their 
jibs  down,  the  solitary  gray  shaft  of  the  light -house  standing  grindy  up 
iuii(»iig  the  white  s;  ds,  a  mile-stone  of  the  sea. 

Tliere  are  very  few  who  would  be  able  to  approach  the  farthest  edge  of 
the  precipice  called  the  Pulpit,  and  bend  over  its  sheer  face  without  a  quick- 
ening of  the  pulse.  As  in  all  these  grand  displays  in  which  Nature  puts  fortli 
lior  powers,  you  shrink  in  projiortion  as  she  exalts  herself.  For  the  time  being, 
at  least,  the  conceit  is  taken  out  of  you,  and  you  are  thoroughly  put  down. 
Here  is  a  perpendicular  wall  of  rock  ninety  feet  in  height  (as  well  as  I  could 
estimate  it),  and  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  in  length,  with  a  greater  than  Ni- 
agara raging  at  its  foot  —  a  rock  buttress,  with  its  foundations  deeply  root- 
ed in  the  earth,  breasting  off  the  Atlantic ;  and  the  massy  fragments  lying 
sijliutered  at  its  base,  or  heaved  loosely  about  the  summit,  told  of  many  a 
ilesperate  wrestling-match,  with  a  constant  gain  for  the  old  athlete.  Tlu* 
sea  is  gnawing  its  way  into  the  coast  slowly,  but  as  surely  as  the  cataract 
is  approaching  the  lake;  and  the  cliff,  though  it  may  for  a  thousand  years 
oppose  this  terrible  battering,  will  at  last,  like  some  sea  fortress,  crumble 
before  it. 

Underneath  the  cliff  is  one  of  those  curious  basins  hollowed  out  almost 
with  the  regularity  of  art,  in  which  a  vessel  of  large  tonnage  might  be  float- 
ed.   On  the  farther  side  of  this  basin,  the  ledges,  though  jagged  and  wave- 


\i) 


TIIH   Ni:\V  KNGLAM)  COAST. 


worn,  (Icsccnd  wltli  ivtrular  iiiclino,  inakiiiij;  jv  sort  of  jil.atform.  On  the  lop 
of  the  clitt'tlio  rock  th'bris  :iii<l  liiu-  of  soil  show  iiiimistiikaltly  tliat  in  scviiv 
gales  the  sea  leaps  to  this  great  height,  dreiiehiiig  thi;  stiiiunit  with  salt  spray. 
At  siieh  a  time  the  sea  iiuist  be  superi),  though  awful  ;  for  I  (h)iibt  if  a  hiiiiiaii 
being  coulil  stand  erect  before  such  a  slorni. 

Tlio  exposed  side  of  I>ald  Wv.ul  C'litl'  I'aees  south  of  oast,  and  is  the  resi.lt 
of  aires  of  wear  and  tear.  Tin;  sea  undermines  it,  assails  it  in  front  and  from 
all  sides.  Here  are  dikes,  as  at  Star  Island,  in  which  the  trap-rock  has  given 
way  to  the  continual  i)ounding,  thus  atlbrding  a  vantage-gnjund  for  the  gnat 
lifting  j»ower  of  the  waves.  The  strata  of  rock  lie  in  ])erpendicMlar  masses, 
weldeil  together  as  if  l»y  fire,  and  injected  with  crystal  <|uai'l/.  seams,  knothd 
like  veins  in  a  Titan's  foreheach  i Mocks  of  granite  weighing  many  tons, 
lioney-conibed  by  the  action  of  the  water,  are  loosely  ])iled  where  the  clitl' 
ovcrliangs  the  waves;  and  you  may  descend  by  regular  steps  to  the  verj,'c 
of  the  abyss.  The  time  to  inspect  thii  curiosity  is  at  low  tide,  when,  if  llurc; 
be  sea  enough,  the  waves  come  grandly  in,  whelming  the  shaggy  rocks,  ilown 
whose  si(h's  a  hundred  miniature  cascades  pour  as  the  waters  recede. 

Beneath  tlie  elitf  the  incoming  tides  have  worn  the  trap-vock  to  glassy 
smoothness,  rendering  it  difficult  to  walk  about  when  they  are  wetted  by  the 
spray.  From  this  stand-point  it  is  apparent  the  wall  that  rises  before  you  is 
the  remaining  side  of  one  of  those  cliasms  which  the  sea  has  diiven  right  into 
the  heart  of  the  crag.  The  other  face  is  what  lies  scattered  about  on  all  sides 
in  ]>ictures(pie  ruin.  If , the  view  Irom  the  summit  was  invigorating,  the  sit- 
uation below  was  far  from  inspiring.  It  needed  all  the  cheerful  light  aiul 
warmth  the  afternoon  sun  could  give  to  brighten  np  that  bleak  and  ruuiii'd 
shore.  The  spot  had  for  me  a  certain  sombre  fascination ;  for  it  was  lierc, 
more  than  thirty  years  ago,  the  Isidore,  a  brand-new  vessel,  and  only  a  few 
hours  from  poit,  was  lost  with  every  soul  on  board.  Often  have  I  heard  tlic 
tale  of  that  winter's  night  from  relatives  of  the  ill-fiited  ship's  crew;  and  as  I 
stood  here  within  their  tomb,  realizing  the  hopelessness  of  human  effort  when 
opposed  to  those  merciless  crags,  I  thought  of  Schiller's  lines: 

"  Oil  many  a  bark  to  tlmt  Ijieast  gra])i)le(l  fast 

Has  gone  down  to  tlie  feiufnl  niul  fatliomless  grave; 
Again,  crashed  together  the  keel  ioid  the  inas;, 

To  be  seen  tossed  aloft  in  the  glee  of  the  wave! 
Like  the  growth  of  a  storm,  ever  loader  and  clearer, 
Gro\v.s  the  roar  of  the  gulf  lising  nearer  and  nearer." 

Over  there,  where  the  smoke  lies  above  the  tree-tops,  is  Kennebunknort,' 
where  they  build  as  staunch  vessels  as  float  on  any  sea.  The  village  ami  its 
ship-yards  lie  along  the  banks  of  a  little  river,  or,  more  pro))erly  speak iii<.%iiii 
arm  of  the  sc.i.     It  is  a  queer  old  ])lace,  or  rather  was,  before  it  became  trans- 


Once,  and  much  better,  Arnndel,  from  the  Earl  of  Arundel. 


I'KOM    WKLLS   TO   OLD   YOUK. 


117 


lilted  into  a  summer  resort;  but  iu)\v  silk  jostles  homespun,  and  for  three 
iiiuiitlis  in  the  year  it  is  invaded  hy  an  army  of  pleasure-seekers,  who  ransack 
ils  M'.-ivt  places,  and  alter  takinj^  their  till  of  sea  and  shore,  lieu  before  the 
lirsl  frosts  of  autunni.     The  town  then  hibernates. 

'flic  Itiidore  was  built  u  few  miles  up  river,  where  the  stream  is  so  narrow 
aiiil  crooked  that  you  can  scarce  conceive  how  ships  of  any  size  could  be  suc- 
cessfully launched.  At  a  |)oint  below  the  "Landinj^"  the  banks  are  so  near 
toiictlier  as  to  admit  of  a  U»ek  to  retain  the  full  tide  when  a  launch  took  phu-e. 
A  l)in'  ship  usually  brin<^s  up  in  the  soft  ooze  of  the  op[»osite  bank,  but  is  got 
oil' at  the  next  flood  by  the  help  of  a  few  yoke  of  oxen  and  a  strong  hawser. 
IJesiiU'S  its  ship-building,  Kennebmdvport  oneo  boasted  a  considerable  com- 
morei'  with  the  West  Indies,  and  the  Ibundations  of  nuiny  su'ig  fortimcs  liave 
been  laid  in  rum  and  sugar,  The  decaying  wharves  and  empty  warehouses 
now  tell  their  own  story. 

I  was  one  afternoon  at  the  humble  cottage  of  a  less  ancient,  though  more 
coliiTcMt,  mariner  ilian  Coleridge's,  who,  after  forty  years  battling  with  storms, 
was  now  laid  up  like  an  old  hulk  that  will  never  more  bo  fit  for  sea.  Togeth- 
er we  relu'arsed  the  first  and  last  voyage  of  the  Isidore. 

"Thirty  years  ago  come  Thanksgiving,"  said  Ben,  in  a  voice  pitched  be- 
low Ills  usual  key,  "the  ffidore  lay  at  the  wharf  with  lier  topsails  loose,  wait- 
ing for  a  slant  of  wind  to  put  to  sea.  She  was  named  for  the  builder's  daugh- 
ter, a  mighty  pretty  gal,  sir;  but  the  boys  didn't  like  the  name  because  it 
sounded  outlandish-like,  and  would  have  rather  liad  an  out-au'-out  Yankee 
one  any  day  of  the  week." 

"There  is,  then,"  I  suggested,  "  something  in  a  name  at  sea  as  well  as 
ashore  y"' 

"  bor'  bless  your  dear  soul,  I've  seen  them  barkeys  as  could  almost  ship  a 

crew  for  nothing,  they  had  such  spanking,  saucy  names.     Captain  U Was 

as  good  ji  sailor  as  ever  stepped,  but  dretful  profane.  He  was  as  brave  as  a 
lion,  and  had  rescued  the  crew  of  an  Englishman  from  certaiii  death  while 
ih'ilting  a  helpless  wreck  before  a  gale.     No  boat  could  live  in  the  sea  that 

was  rnnniiig;  but  Captain  11 bore  down  lor  the  sinking  ship,  and  passed 

It  so  closi!  that  the  crew  saved  themselves  by  jumping  aboard  of  him.  Seven 
or  eight  times  he  stood  lor  that  wreck,  until  all  but  one  num  were  saved.  He 
hud  the  ill-luck  afterward  to  get  a  cotton  ship  ashore  at  Three  Acres,  near 
where  the  Itddore  was  lost,  and  said,  as  I've  heard,  '  he  hoped  the  next  ves- 
sel that  went  ashore  he  should  be  under  lier  keel.'  He  had  his  wish,  most 
likely. 

"The  Isidore  was  light,  just  on  top  of  water,  and  never  ought  to  have 
Uone  to  sea  in  that  plight;  but  she  had  been  a  good  while  wind-bound,  and 
all  hands  began  to  be  imi)atient  to  be  off.  Her  crew,  fifteen  as  likely  lads  as 
ever  reefed  a  topsail,  all  belonged  in  the  neighborhood.  One  of 'em  didn't 
•eel  noways  right  about  the  v'y'ge,  and  couldn't  make  up  his  mind  to  go  mi- 


no 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


til  the  sliip  was  over  the  bar,  when  ho  had  to  be  set  aboard  in  a  wherry, 
Another  dreamed  three  jiiglits  running  tlio  same  dream,  and  every  blessed 
time  he  saw  the  Isidore  o'^rike  on  a  lee  siiorc  witli  tlie  sea  a-Hying  as  high  as 
tile  maintop.  Every  time  he  woke  uj)  in  a  cold  sweat,  witli  tlio  cries  of  liis 
sliipmates  ringing  in  his  ears  as  plain  as  we  hear  tl)e  rote  on  Gooeh's  Beaeli 
this  minute.  !So,  when  the  Isidore  set  her  colors  and  dropped  down  the  river, 
Joe,  though  ho  had  signed  the  articles  and  got  tiie  advance,  took  to  tliu 
woods.     JMost  every  body  tliought  it  scandalous  for  the  ship  to  unmoor,  but 

Captain  II said  he  would  go  to  sea  if  he  went  to  h — 1  the  next  miinito. 

Dretful  profane  man,  sir — dretful. 

"The  M'eatlier  warn't  exactly  foul  weather,  and  the  sea  was  smooth 
enough,  but  all  the  air  there  was  was  dead  ahead,  and  it  looked  dirty  to 
wind'ard.  The  ship  slipped  out  tiirough  the  ])iers,  and  stood  otf  to  the  east- 
"ard  on  tlie  port  tack.  I  recollect  slie  was  so  nigli  the  shore  that  I  could  sec 
wlio  was  at  the  wlieel.  Siie  didn't  woik  liandy,  for  all  the  ropes  were  new 
and  full  of  turns,  and  I  knew  ihey  were  liaving  it  lively  aboard  of  her.  Early 
in  the  afternoon  it  began  to  snow,  lirst  lightly,  then  tliick  and  fast,  and  the 
wind  began  to  freshen  up  considerable.  The  ship  made  one  or  two  tacks  to 
work  out  of  tlie  bay,  but  about  four  o'clock  it  closed  in  thick,  and  we  lost 
her. 

"I  saw  the  Nubble  all  night  long,  for  the  snow  come  in  gusts;  but  it 
blowed  fresh  from  the  no'tli-cast ; /Ha'A,"  he  repeated,  raising  his  eyes  to  mine 
and  shaking  his  gray  head  by  way  of  empliasis.  "I  was  afeard  tlie  sliip  was 
in  the  bay,  and  co.ildn't  sleep,  but  went  to  the  door  and  looked  out  betuoeii 
whiles." 

It  was,  indeed,  as  I  have  heard,  a  dread  fid  night,  and  many  a  vigil  was 
kept  by  wife,  mother,  and  sweetheart.  At  day-break  the  snow  lay  heaped  in 
drift?,  in  the  village  streets  and  garden  areas.  It  was  not  long  before  a  mes- 
senger came  riding  in  at  full  speed  with  the  news  that  the  shoi-es  of  Oiiiui- 
<piit  were  fringed  with  the  wreck  of  a  large  vessel,  and  that  not  one  of  lier 
crew  was  left  to  tell  the  tale.  The  word  passed  from  house  to  house.  Si- 
lence and  gloom  reigned  within  tlie  snow-beleaguered  village. 

It  was  sup])osed  the  ship  struck  about  midnight,  as  the  Ognnquit  fisliev- 
mcn  heard  in  their  cabins  cries  and  groans  at  this  hour  .above  the  noise  of 
the  tempest.  They  were  powerless  to  aid;  no  boat  could  have  been  huiiich- 
ed  in  that  sea.  If  any  lights  were  shown  on  board  the  ship,  they  were  not 
seen ;  neither  were  any  guns  heard.  The  ropes,  stiflened  with  ice,  would  not 
run  through  the  sheaves,  which  rendered  the  working  of  tlie  ship  ditheiilt, 
if  not  im])ossible.  No  doubt  the  doomed  vessel  drove  helplessly  to  !ier  de- 
struction, the  frozen  sails  hanging  idly  to  the  yards,  while  Ik?"  exhausted 
crew  miserably  i)erislied  with  the  lights  of  their  homes  before  their  eyes. 

All  the  morning  after  the  wreck  the  people  along  shore  were  seareliintt 
amidst  the  tangled  masses  of  drift  and  sea-wrack  the  storm  liad  cast  up  foi' 


FHOM  WKLLS  TO  OLD   YORK. 


119 


Uio  remains  of  tl'o  crew.     Tlioy  wore  too  miicli  maiiglt'd  for  recognition,  ex- 
(•('itt  in  a  single  instance.     Captain  G ,  a  jiassenger,  had  by  accident  put 


(III 


liis  red-riannel  drawers  the  wrong  side  out  the  morning  tlie  Isidore  sailed, 


ohscrviiig  to  his  wite 
ili;il,  as  it  was  good 
luck,  he  M-ould  not 
cliaiige  them.  One 
was  found  en- 
1  in  the  drawei's. 


w% 


castM 


Tiie  mutilated  frag- 
inonts  were  brought 


to   tl 


le   villao: 


o  ' 


anci 


THK   MOUMNCi    KOIND. 


hiiricd  \n  a  common 
uravc. 

Some  of  the  old 
people  at  the  Port 
ik'clare  to  this  day 
lii'it  on  the  night  of 
the  wreck  thev  heard 

shriek;;  as  plainly  as  ever  issued  from  human  throats;  and  yon  could  not  av- 
■fiie  it  '  ut  of  them,  though  the  spot  whei'e  the  Isidore's  anchors  were  found 

is  ten  miles  away.      A^*  for  Joe  1> ,  the  runaway,  he  can  not  refrain  from 

shedding  tears  when  the  Isidore  is  nieutioned. 

"But,  lien, do  you  believe  in  'ireams?"  I  asked,  with  my  hand  on  the  latch. 

"B'leeve  in  dreams!"  he  rejteated  ;  "  why,  Joe's  a  living  man;  but  wheve's 
\m  mates?"  .  ■ 

Perhaps  they  -.     , 

"Died  as  men  shniilJ  die,  clinging  ronnd  tlicir  lonely  wreck,  y. 

Tiieir  windiiig-slieet  tlie  sky,  and  tlii'lr  s(']iiil('hrc  the  deck; 

And  tlie  steersiniin  held  the  lielin  till  his  breath 
Grew  faint  and  fainter  still; 
Tliere  was  one  siiort  fatni  tlirill. 
Then  lie  sank  into  the  chill 
*  Anns  of  Deatii." 

I  turned  away  fi'om  the  spot  with  the  old  sailor's  words  in  mind:  "A 
wicked  place  where  she  struck ;  and  the  sea  drove  right  on.  A  ragged  place, 
sir — ragged." 

Leaving  the  cliif,  T  struck  across  the  pastures  to  the  road,  making  no  fur- 
ther halt  except  to  gather  a  few  huckleberries  that  grew  on  liigh  bushes  by 
the  roadside.  The  fruit  is  largo,  eith(>r  black  or  blue,  with  an  aii'reeablo 
though  different  flavor  from  any  of  the  low -bushed  varieties.  The  local 
naii.e  for  the  shrub  is  "bilberry."  It  freqnenlly  grows  higher  than  a  man's 
lieail,  ami  a  single  one  will  often  yield  nearly  a  quart. 


..-, 


msr-:—- — rs 


120 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


It  was  a  ycai"  of  plenty,  ami  I  had  sct'ii  llio  ijickcrs  busy  in  the  bony 
pastures  as  I  i)assed  by.  TIio  fruit,  being  for  the  time  a  sort  of  currency — 
not  quite  so  liard,  by-the-bye,  as  the  musket-bullets  of  the  colonists — is  le- 
ceivetl  in  barter  at  the  stores.  Whole  faniilies  engage  in  the  harvest,  makiiii; 
fair  wages,  the  annual  yield  exceeding  in  value  that  of  the  corn  crop  of  tlic 
State.  Maine  growt:;  her  corn  en  the  Western  prairies,  and  pays  for  it  wiili 
canned  fish  and  berries. 

At  the  village  store  I  saw  a  woman  drive  up  with  a  bnsliel  of  hucklu- 
berries,  with  which  she  bought  enough  calico  ft)r  a  gown,  half  a  pound  ut' 
tobacco,  and  some  knickknacks  for  the  children  at  home.  Affixed  in  a  con- 
spicuous place  to  the  wall  was  the  motlo,  "  (Juick  sales  and  snnUl  protils" 
Half  an  hour  was  spent  in  beating  the  slu)pd<eeper  down  a  cent  in  the  yard, 
and  another  (juarter  of  an  lu)ur  to  induce  him  to  "heave  in,"  as  she  sai(l.;i 
spool  of  cotton.  The  man,  after  stoutly  contesting  the  claim,  finally  yiehUil 
both  points.  "  The  woman,"  thought  I,  "evidently  only  half  believes  in  yuur 
seductive  motto." 

All  along  the  road  T  had  met  women  and  children,  going  or  returning,, 
with  pails  or  baskets.     Oivj  man,  evidently  a  fast  pickei-,  had  tilled  the  sleevus 
of  his  jacket  with  berries,  after  having  lir:-:.t  tied  them  at  the  wrists.     Anoth- 
er, who  vaulted  over  the  stone  wall  at  my  side,  when  asked  if  he  was  going 
to  try  the  huckleberries,  replied, 

"  Wa'al,  yes;  think  I'll  try  and  accumidate  a  few." 

Descending  the  last  hill  before  reaching  Cape  Xeddock  Harbor,  I  had  a 
good  view  of  the  Xubhle,  which  several  writers  have  believed  was  the  Savage 
Rock  of  (4osnold,  and  tlie  iirst  land  in  New  England  to  receive  an  Engli?li 
name.  The  reliable  accounts  of  the  early  voyagers  to  our  coasts  are  nnieli 
too  vague  to  enable  later  historians  to  fix  the  points  where  they  made  llie 
land  witli  the  confidence  with  which  many  undertake  to  fix  them.  A  care- 
ful examination  of  these  accouats  justifies  the  opinion  that  Gosiiold  made  liis 
landfall  ofi:' Agamenticus,  and  first  droi)ped  anchor,  since  leaving  Falmoiitli, 
at  Cape  Ann.  The  latitude,  if  accurately  taken,  would  of  itself  put  the  <nu's- 
tion  beyond  controversy;  but  as  the  methods  of  observing  the  exact  position 
of  a  ship  were  greatly  inferior  to  what  they  became  later  in  the  seventeeiitii 
centrry,  I  at  first  doubted,  and  was  then  constrained  to  admit,  that  the  reck- 
oning of  Gosnold,  Pring,  and  Champlain  ought  to  be  accepted  as  trustwortliy. 
Gabriel  Archer,  who  was  with  Gosnold,  says,"They  held  themselves  by  conno- 
tation well  ncero  the  latitude  of  4;]  degrees,"  or  a  little  northwani  of  the  Isles 
of  Shoals.  John  Hrereton,  also  of  Gosnold's  company,says  they  fell  in  with  the 
coast  in  thick  weather,  and  first  made  land  with  the  lead.  By  all  accotnits 
the  CWco/v/,  Gosnold's  ship,  was  to  the  northward  of  Cape  Ann.  Land  '.rn« 
sighted  at  six  in  tlie  morning  of  the  14th  of  May,  1002,  and  Gosnold  sIimk! 
"fair  along  b;  the  shore"  until  noon,  which  would  have  carried  him  across 
Ipswich  Bay,  even  if  the  Concord  were  a  dull  sa'ier.     In  1003  ^larlin  I'ling 


FUOM   WELLS  TO  OLD  YORK. 


121 


sailed  ovor  nearly  the  samo  track  as  Gosnold.  It  is  by  comparing  these  two 
voyaii'i'S  that  Savage  Kock  appears  to  be  looatetl  at  Cape  Ann. 

Priiig,  says  (Jurges,  observing  liis  iiistruclions  (to  keep  to  the  northward 
as  liii;'h  as  Cape  Breton),  arrived  safely  out  and  back,  bringing  with  him  "the 
most  exact  discovery  of  that  coast  that  ever  came  to  my  liands  since ;  and 
imlted  he  was  the  best  able  to  perform  it  of  any  I  met  witlial  to  this  present." 
I'riiig's  relation  wrought  such  an  impression  on  Sir  F.  Gorges  and  Lord  Chief- 
justice  Popham  that,  notwitiistaiuliiig  their  first  disasters,  they  resolved  on 
another  ef!brt.  He  had  no  doubt  seen  and  talked  with  (iosnold  after  his  re- 
tina;  perhaps  had  obtained  from  him  his  courses  after  he  fell  in  with  the 
coast. 

Tlie  Speedicell,  Pring's  vessel,  also  made  land  in  forty-three  degrees.  It 
proved  to  be  a  multitude  of  small  islands.  I'riug,  after  anchoring  under  the 
lee  of  the  largest,  coasted  the  main-land  with  hie  boats.  Tlie  narrative  con- 
tiiMK's  to  relate  that  they  "came  to  the  mayne  in  4:^V,  and  ranged  to  south- 
west, in  which  course  we  found  several  inlets,  the  more  easterly  of  which 
was  barred  at  the  mouth.  Ilaviug  passed  over  the  bar,  we  ran  np  into  it  five 
miles.  Coming  out  and  sailing  south-west,  we  lighted  upon  two  other  inlets; 
tlie  fourth  and  most  westerly  was  best,  which  we  rowed  up  ten  or  twelve 
miles."  lietween  forty-three  and  forty-three  and  a  half  degrees  are  the  Saco, 
then  barred  at  the  mouth,'  the  3[ousam,  York,  and  the  ]*iscata(pia,  the  "most 
westerly  and  bet^t." 

"We  (meeting  with  no  sassafras)" — to  follow  the  narrative — "left  these 
lihices  and  shaped  oar  course  for  iSavaf/e's  ii?ocA's,  discovered  the  year  before 
by  Ca])tain  Gosuold."  Savage  Mock,  then,  was  by  both  these  accounts 
(Archer  and  Pring)  to  the  southward  of  forty-three  degrees,  while  the  Nub- 
ble, or  rather  Agamenticus,  is  in  forty-three  degrees  sixteen  minutes. 

'  Departing  hence,  we  bare  into  that  great  gulf  which  CMi)tain  Gosnohl 
overshot  the  year  before."  This  could  be  no  other  than  Massacliusetts  Bay, 
for  (iosnold,  according  to  lirereton,  after  leaving  Savage  Hock,  shaped  his 
course  southward  ("standing  off  southerly  into  the  sea")  the  rest  of  that 
day  and  night  (May  15th),  and  on  the  following  morning  found  himself  "em- 
bayed with  a  mighty  headland,"  which  was  Cape  Cod.  Pring,  on  the  con- 
trary, steered  into  the  bay, "  coasting,  and  fiiuling  ])eople  on  the  north  sid(^ 
thereof."  If  my  conjecture  be  correct,  ho  was  the  first  English  mariner  in 
Boston  Bay. 

It  is  hardly  possible  that  a  navigator  falling  in  with  the  New  England 
const  in  forty-three  or  forty-three  and  a  half  degrees,  and  steering  south-west, 
iiliould  not  recognize  in  Cape  Ann  one  of  its  remarkable  features,  or  pass  it 
I'V  uupcreeived  in  the  night.  lie  would  have  been  likely  to  find  Savage  Hock 
and  end  his  voyage  at  the  same  moment.     C'liamplain  and  Smith  are  both  in 


'  An  old  sea-chart  says,  "  8uco  Kiver  bear  jjlace  at  low  water." 


122 


TI'::   NKW  KXGLAND  COAST, 


evidence.  The  fortner,  wlio  examined  llie  coast  minutely  two  years  afU'i- 
Pring  (June,  1605),  lias  delineated  "Cap  des  Isles"  on  his  map  of  1012, 
which  accompanied  tlie  first  edition  of  his  voyages.  The  account  he  gives 
of  its  position  is  as  clear  as  tliat  of  Archer  is  obscure.  Says  the  Freuchnian, 
in  his  own  way : 

"Mettant  le  cap  au  su  pour  nous  esloigner  afin  de  mouiller  I'aiicre,  ayaiit 
fait  environ  deux  lieux  nous  appcryunies  un  cap  a  la  grande  terre  an  su  quart 
»lo  suest  de  nous  ou  il  pouvoit  avoit  six  lieues;  a  I'est  deux  lieues  apperyumt's 
trois  ou  quatre  isles  assez  liautes  et  a  I'ouest  un  grand  cu  de  sac." 

Here  are  the  bearings  of  Cape  Ann,  tlie  Isles  of  Shoals,  and  of  Ipswicli 
Bay  defined  with  precision.  Champlaiu  also  puts  the  latitude  of  Keiinebuiik 
River  at  forty-three  degrees  twenty-five  minutes,  which  shows  Priiig  could 
hardly  have  explored  to  the  e;istward  of  Cape  Eliza\)eth.  Smilh,  in  1014,  de- 
scribed Cape  Ann  and  Cape  Cod  as  the  two  great  headlands  of  New  England, 
giving  to  the  former  the  name  of  Tragabigzanda;  but  Champlaiu  had  pre- 
(xnled  him,  as  Gosnold  had  ]>receded  Champlaiu.  On  the  whole,  (iosiiold, 
Pring,  and  Champlaiu  agree  I'emarkably  in  their  latitude  and  in  their  itiii- 
ei'ai'y. 

At  Cape  Xeddock  I  "put  up,"  or  rather  was  put  np — an  expression  a]i- 
plied  alike  to  man  and  beast  in  every  public-house  in  New  England — at  tlic 
old  Freeman  Tavern,  a  famous  stopping-place  in  by-gone  years,  when  the  mail- 
coach  between  Boston  and  Portland  passed  this  way.  Since  I  knew  it  tlic 
liouso  had  been  brushed  up  with  a  coat  of  paint  on  the  outside,  the  tall  sign- 
post was  gone,  and  nothing  looked  quite  natural  except  the  capacious  rod 
barn  belonging  to  the  hostel.  The  bar-room,  however,  was  unchanged,  and 
the  aroma  of  old  Santa  Cruz  still  lingered  there,  though  the  pretty  hostess 
assured  me,  on  the  word  of  a  landlady,  there  was  nothing  in  the  house  strong- 
er than  small  beer.  It  was  n(»t  so  of  yore,  when  all  comers  appeared  to  have 
taken  the  famous  Ilighgate  oath:  "Never  to  drink  small  beer  when  you 
could  get  ale,  unless  you  liked  small  beer  best." 

The  evening  tempted  me  to  a  stroll  down  to  the  harbor,  to  see  the  wood- 
coasters  go  out  with  the  flood.  vVfterward  I  walked  on  the  beach.  The  full 
moon  shone  out  clear  in  the  heavens,  lighting  up  a  radiant  aisle  incrusted 
with  silver  pavement  on  the  still  waters,  broad  at  the  shore,  receding  until 
lost  in  the  deepening  mystery  of  the  farther  sea.  The  ground-swell  rose  and 
fell  with  regular  heaving,  as  of  Old  Ocean  asleep.  As  a  breaker  wavered  and 
top|ded  over,  a  bright  gleam  ran  along  its  broken  arch  like  the  swift  Hash- 
ing of  a  train.  Occasionally  some  craft  crossed  the  moon^s  track,  where  it 
stood  out  for  a  moment  with  surprising  distinctness,  to  be  swallowed  ii|i  an 
instant  later  in  the  surrounding  blackness.  lioon  Island  had  unclosed  its 
brilliant  eye — its  light  in  the  window  for  the  mariner.  It  had  been  a  perfect 
day,  but  the  night  was  enchanting. 


WHAT   THE   SEA   CAN  DO. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AGAMENTICnS,  THE    ANCIENT    CITY. 

*'  Land  of  tlie  forest  and  the  rock, 

Of  dark-blue  lake  and  tniglity  river, 
Of  moinitains  reared  aluft  to  mock 
The  storm's  career,  the  lightning's  shock— 

My  own  green  hind  forever," 

WlIITTIKU. 

T  TO  for  Agar  nticus !  It  is  an  oUl  saying,  attribiitoil  to  the  Iron  Duko, 
^^  that  wlion  a  man  wants  to  turn  over  it  is  time  for  him  to  turn  out.  As 
there  are  six  good  miles  to  get  over  to  tlie  mountain,  and  as  many  to  return, 
I  was  early  astir.  The  road  is  chiefly  used  by  wood  teams,  and  was  well 
beaten  to  within  half  a  mile  of  the  hills.  From  thence  it  dwindled  into  a 
ureen  lane,  which  in  turn  becomes  a  footpath  bordered  by  dense  under- 
irrowtli.  Agamenticus  is  not  a  liigh  mountain,  although  so  noted  a  land- 
mark. There  are  in  reality  three  summits  of  nearly  equal  altitude,  ranging 
norili-east  and  south-west,  the  westernmost  being  the  highest.  At  the  mount- 
uiii's  foot  is  a  scattered  hamlet  of  a  few  unthrifty-looking  cabins,  tenanted  by 
wood-cutters,  for,  notwithstanding  the  axe  has  played  sad  liavoc  in  the  neigh- 
boring forests,  there  are  still  some  clumps  of  tall  pines  there  fit  for  the  king's 
ships.  You  obtain  your  first  glimpse  of  the  hills  when  still  two  miles  dis- 
tant, the  road  then  crossing  the  country  for  the  rest  of  the  way,  with  the 
iiioiuitain  looming  up  before  you. 

•Vlong  shore,  and  in  the  country-side,  the  ])oople  call  the  mount  indiffer- 
ently "Eddymenticus"  and  "Head  o'  Menticus."  Some,  who  had  lived  with- 
in a  few  miles  of  it  since  childhood,  told  me  they  liad  never  had  the  curios- 
ity to  try  the  ascent.     One  man,  who  lived  within  lialf  a  mile  of  the  base  of 


(r— 


124 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Ill 


tliG  western  hill,  had  never  been  on  any  of  the  others.  Tlie  name  is  unniis- 
tiikiibly  of  Indian  origin,  (Jeneral  Gookin,  in  his  "Historical  Collections  of 
the  Indians  in  New  England,"  written  in  1G74,  has  the  following  in  relation  to 
the  tribes  inhabiting  this  region:  "The  Pawtnekett  is  the  fifth  and  last  gn-at 
sachenishi[)  of  Indians.  Their  eonntry  lieth  north  and  north-east  from  lln' 
JNIassaehnsetts,  whose  donunion  reacheth  so  far  as  the  English  jnrisdietion, 
or  colony  of  the  Massachnsetts,  now  doth  extend,  and  had  nnder  them  sev- 
eral other  small  sagamores,  as  tlie  I'ennacooks,  Agawomes,  Naamkeeks,  I'as- 
catawayes,  Accomintas,  and  others.'" 

The  climb  is  only  iatigning;  it  is  not  at  all  difficnlt.  The  native  forest 
has  disappeared,  bnt  a  new  growth  of  decidnous  trees,  with  a  fair  sprinkliii;^' 
of  evergreens,  is  fast  replacing  it.  In  some  places  the  slender  stems  of  tlii' 
birch  or  pine  shoot  np,  as  it  were,  ont  of  the  solid  rock.  Following  the  dry 
bed  of  a  mountain  torrent,  and  turning  at  every  step  to  wonder  and  admin.', 
in  half  an  hour  I  stood  on  the  top.  The  summit  contains  an  acre  or  more  ot' 
bare  granite  ledge,  with  tufts  of  wiry  grass  and  clmnps  of  tangled  vines  grow- 
ing among  the  crevices.  Some  scattered  blocks  had  been  collected  at  the 
highest  poiiit,  and  a  cairn  built.  I  seated  myself  on  the  topmost  stone  of  tiic 
monument. 

A  solitary  mountain  lifting  itself  above  the  surrounding  country  is  always 
impressive.  Agamenticus  seems  an  outpost  of  the  White  Hills,  left  strancU'il 
here  by  the  glacier,  or  upheaved  by  some  tremendous  throe.  The  day  wn ; 
not  of  the  clearest,  or,  rather,  the  morning  mists  still  hung  in  heavy  fulds 
about  the  ocean,  making  it  look  from  my  airy  perch  as  if  sky  and  sea  lunl 
changed  places.  Capes  and  headlands  were  revealed  in  a  striking  and  mys- 
tical way,  as  objects  dimly  seen  through  a  veil.  Large  ships  resembled  toys, 
except  that  the  blue  space  grasped  by  the  eye  was  too  vast  for  playthings. 
Cape  Elizabeth  northward  and  Cape  Ann  in  the  southern  board  stretched  fai' 
out  into  the  sea,  as  if  seeking  to  draw  tribute  of  all  passing  ships  into  the 
ports  between.  Here  were  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  lying  in  a  heap  together. 
That  luminous,  jnisty  belt  was  Rye  Beach.  And  here  was  the  Piscataipia, 
and  here  Portsmouth,  Kittery,  and  Old  York,  with  all  the  sea-shore  vilLitji's 
I  had  so  lately  traversed.  As  the  sun  rose  higher,  the  murky  curtain  was 
rolled  away,  and  the  ocean  appeared  in  its  brightest  azure. 

The  sea  is  what  you  seldom  tire  of,  especially  v.here  its  nearness  to  tlic 
chief  New  England  nnirts  shows  it  crowded  with  sails  bearing  up  for  port. 
Craft  of  every  build,  flags  of  every  nation,  pass  Aganaenticus  and  its  three 
peaks  in  endless  procession — stately  ships 


'  That  court Vy  to  them,  do  tlicm  reverence 
As  tliey  Hy  by  on  their  woven  wings." 


"Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,"  1702,  vol.  i. 


AGAMKNTICUS,  THE  ANCIENT  CITY. 


125 


Olil  Ocean  parts  botbro  tlio  t'aij;t'i-  i>rt)\v.  You  fancy  you  see  llio  foam  roll 
awav  ami  go  glancing  astern.  Here  is  a  bark  witli  the  bottom  of  tlio  Tagus, 
!iim1  another  with  the  sands  of  the  Golden  Horn,  sticking  to  the  anchor-ttuke; 
;iii(]  here  a  smoke  on  the  horizon's  rim  heralds  a  swifter  messenger  from  the 
Old  World — some  steamship  climbing  the  earth's  rotundity;  and  yet  water, 
the ;  say,  will  not  run  up  hill!  When  I  looked  forth  upon  this  moving  scene 
my  lungs  began  to  "crow  like  chanticleer."  I  waved  my  hat,  and  shouted 
"a  good  voyage"  to  sailors  that  could  not  hear  me,  I  had  no  fear  of  listen- 
ers, for  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  tells  no  tales.  To  stand  on  a  mountain- 
top  is  better,  to  my  mind,  than  to  be  up  any  distance  in  a  balloon.  You  have, 
at  least,  something  under  you,  and  can  come  down  when  you  like.  What  a 
fiikTum  AganuMiticus  would  have  made  for  the  lever  of  Archimedes  ! 

Landward,  the  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  AVhite  Hills — the  "Crystal 
Mountains,  daunting  terrible,"  of  the  first  explorer,'  They  look  shadowy 
enough  at  this  distance — seventy  miles  as  the  crow  flies — Mount  Washington, 
grand  and  grim,  its  head  muflled  in  a  mantle  of  clouds,  overtopping  all.  The 
lofty  ranges  issuing  from  these  resemble  a  broken  wall  as  they  stretch  away 
to  the  Connecticut,  with  Moosehillock  towering  above, 

"To  mo  tlioy  seemed  the  barriers  of  ti  world, 
Saying,  'Tims  fur,  no  farther!'" 

The  busy  towns  of  Dover  and  Great  Falls,  with  the  nearer  villnges  of  Eliot 
iuul  Berwick,  are  groui)ed  about  in  picturesque  confusion,  a  spire  peeping  out 
of  a  seeming  forest,  a  broad  river  dwindling  to  a  rivulet. 

After  feasting  for  an  hour  upon  this  sight,  I  became  more  than  ever  per- 
suaded that,  except  in  that  rare  condition  of  the  atmosphere  when  the  White 
Hills  are  visible  far  out  to  sea,  Againenticus  must  be  the  first  land  made  out 
i"  ai)])roaching  the  coast  anywhere  within  half  a  degree  of  the  forty-third 
l)arallel.  Juan  Verazzani,  perchance,  certainly  Masters  Gosnold  and  Pring, 
saw  it  as  jdainly  as  I  now  saw  the  ships  below  me,  where  they  had  sailed. 

I  thought  it  fitting  here,  on  the  top  of  Agamenticus,  with  as  good  a  map 
of  the  coast  spread  before  me  as  I  ever  exj)ect  to  see,  to  hold  a  little  chat 
with  the  discoverers.  If  ITendrik  Hudson  haunts  the  fastnessc.  of  the  Cats- 
kills — and  a  veracious  historian  asserts  that  he  has  been  both  seen  and  spoken 
with — why  may  not  the  shade  of  Captain  John  Smith  be  lurking  about  this 
headland,  where  of  yore  he  trafiicked,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  clambered  as  I 
have  done  ? 

liight  over  against  me,  though  I  could  not  see  them,  were  the  Basque 
provinces,  whose  people  the  Romans  could  not  subdue,  and  whose  language, 
says  the  old  French  proverb,  the  devil  himself  could  not  learn.  Cape  Finis- 
terre  was  there,  with  its  shoals  of  sardines  and  its  impotent  conclusion  of  a 


An  Irisliman,  Darby  Field  by  nama. 


120 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


i 

name,  as  if  it  had  bcon  tlic  t'lid  of  the  worhl  indeed  !  Areher  says,  in  lib 
relation  of  Gosnold's  voyatic,'  that  tlie  day  before  they  made  the  land  tlicv 
liad  sweet  smellinijj  of  the  sliore  as  from  the  southern  cape  and  Andalusia,  in 
Spain.  It  was,  nay H  IJrereton,  "  a  Bascpie  sliallop,  with  mast  and  sail,  an  inm 
grapple  and  a  kettle  of  copper,  caiMe  boldly  aboard  of  us."  In  157H  tlicic 
were  a  Iiiiudred  sail  of  Spanish  fisliernien  on  the  IJanks  of  Newfoundhuiil  to 
fifty  English.  Spanish  Biscay  sent  twenty  or  thirty  vessels  there  to  kill 
whales;  France  sent  a  hundred  and  fifty;  and  Portugal  fifty  craft  of  sni.ill 
tonnage  to  fish  for  cod.  The  Indians  wht)  boarded  Gosnold  could  name  I'la- 
ceutia  and  Newfoundland,  and  might  have  come  from  thence  in  their  shallop, 
since  they  so  well  knew  how  to  use  it.  But  if  lirereton's  surmise  was  riglit, 
then  some  of  those  darim;  fellows  from  tlie  Basse  Pyrenees  were  first  at  Sav- 
age  Rock.  lie  says,  "It  seemed,  by  some  words  and  signs  they  made,  that 
some  Basques,  or  of  St.  John  de  Luz,  have  fished  or  traded  in  this  place,  being 
in  tlie  latitude  of  43  degrees." 

Because  there  was  no  sassafras,  it  is  not  much  we  know  about  Savai,n' 
Rock,  The  root  of  this  aromatic  tree  was  worth  in  England  three  shilliiiirs 
the  pound,  or  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  pouiids  tlie  ton,  when  Gosnold 
found  store  of  it  on  the  Elizabeth  Islands;  but  as  he  was  infi)rmed,  "before 
his  r;oing  forth  that  a  ton  of  it  would  cloy  England,"  few  of  his  crew,  "and 
those  but  easy  laborers,"  were  employed  in  gathering  it.  "Tlie  powder  of 
sassafras,"  says  Archer,  "  in  twelve  hours  cured  one  of  our  company  tlial 
had  taken  a  great  surfeit  by  eating  the  bellies  of  dog-fish,  a  very  delicious 
meat." 

Tiiat  the  medicinal  cpialities  of  sassafras  were  highly  esteemed  may  be  in- 
ferred from  what  is  said  of  it  in  "An  English  Exposition,"  printed  at  Cam- 
bridge (England),  in  1676,  l)y  John  Hayes,  ]»rinter  to  the  University. 

'^Sassafras.  —  A  tree  of  great  vertue,  which  groweth  in  Florida,  in  the 
West  Indies;  the  rinde  herof  hath  a  sweete  smell  like  cinnamon.  It  conifoit- 
eth  the  liver  and  stomach,  and  openeth  obstructions  of  the  inward  jjarts, 
being  hot  and  dry  in  the  second  degree.  The  best  of  the  tree  is  the  root, 
next  the  boughs,  then  the  body,  but  the  principal  goodiiesse  of  all  restclh  in 
the  rinde." 

One  Master  Robert  Meriton,  of  Oosnold's  company,  was  "  the  finder  of  the 
sassafras  in  these  parts,"  from  which  it  would  ajipear  that  the  shrub  in  its 
wihl  state  was  little  known  to  these  voyagers. 

Coming  down  from  my  high  antiquarian  steed,  and  from  Agamenticus  at 
the  same  time,  I  walked  back  to  the  tavern  by  dinner-time,  having  fully  set- 
tled in  my  own  mind  the  oft-repeated  question,  the  touch-stone  by  wliidi 
even  one's  pleasures  must  be  regulated, "  Will  it  pay?"  And  I  say  it  will  ])ay 
in  solid  nuggets  of  healthful  enjoyment,  even  if  no  higher  aspirations  are  de- 


'  I'lirchas,  vol.  iv.,  1617. 


AGAMENTICUS,  TIIK  ANClIiNT  CITY. 


I'j; 


velopc'd,  in  staiiilini:^  wliore  at  cvory  instant  man  aiuT  liis  works  dimiiiisli, 
wliilo  llioso  ol'  I  lie  Civ.itor  oxpaiid  l)C'lorc'  yon. 

Duiighiss  ix'inaiks  lliut  "Atinaincnlicns  Hills  wore  l<nown  among  onr  sail- 
ors as  H  noteil  and  usefnl  land-nuiking  for  vessels  tliat  fall  in  northward  of 
Boston  or  M:issaclinsetts  IJay." 

Leaving  my  conift)rtal)le  (]nartc  s  at  Cape  Neddoek,  I  pnrsned  my  walk 
to  Old  York  the  same  afternoon,  tai.ing  the  LoMg  S.aiids  in  my  way.  It  was 
t'arllier  by  the  beaeh  than  by  the  road,  bnt  as  I  was  in  no  haste  I  ehose  the 
shore.  I  notieed  that  the  little  harbor  I  had  (luilted  was  so  shallow  as  to  be 
left  almost  dry  by  Hie  reeeding  tide,  the  ehannel  being  no  more  than  a  riv- 
ulet, easily  forded  within  a  few  rods  of  the  sea.  Between  this  harbor  and 
Wells  i>ay  I  had  passed  several  eoves  where,  in  a  smooth  sea  and  dnring  a 
westerly  wind,  small  vessels  were  formerly  hauled  ashore,  and  loaded  witii 
wood  at  one  tide  with  ease  and  safety.  Yo'iv  Beaeh  is  about  a  mile  aeross. 
1  did  not  iind  it  a  long  one. 

It  being  low  tide  and  a  fine  afternoon,  the  beaeh  was  for  the  time  being 
turned  into  a  highway,  broader  and  smoother  than  any  race-course  could  be, 
over  wliieh  all  manner  of  vehicles  were  being  driven,  from  the  old-fashioned 
uiil  of  the  village  doctor  to  the  aristocratic  landau,  fresh  from  town.  The 
siuids  are  hard  and  gently  shelving,  with  here  and  there  a  fresh-water  brook- 
let trickling  through  the  bulk-head  of  ballast  heaped  up  at  the  top  by  the 
sea.  These  little  streams,  after  channeling  the  beach  a  certain  distance,  dis- 
iippeared  in  the  sand,  just  as  the  Platte  and  Arkansas  sink  out  of  sight  into 
ll'.e  plain. 

There  was  a  fresh  breeze  outside,  so  that  the  coasters  bowled  merrily 
along  with  bellying  sails  before  it,  or  else  bent  until  gun\,ale  under  as  they 
hugged  it  close.  The  color  of  the  sea  had  deepened  to  a  steely  blue.  White 
caps  were  flying,  and  the  clouds  betokened  more  wind  as  they  rose  and  un- 
rolled like  cannon-smoke  above  the  horizon,  producing  effects  such  as  Stan- 
iield  liked  to  transfer  to  his  canvas.  Mackerel  gulls  were  wheeling  and  cir- 
cling above  the  breakers  with  shrill  screams.  Down  at  low-water  mark  the 
seas  came  bounding  in,  driven  by  the  gale,  leaping  over  each  other,  and  beat- 
ing upon  the  strand  with  ceaseless  roar. 

The  beach,  I  saw,  had  been  badly  gullied  by  the  late  storm,  but  tlie  sea, 
like  some  shrewish  housewife,  after  exhausting  its  rage,  had  set  about  putting 
things  to  rights  again.  I  fouiul  shells  of  the  deep-sea  mussel,  of  quaiiaug  and 
giant  sea  clam,  bleaching  there,  bnt  did  not  see  the  small  razor-clam  I  have 
liicked  up  on  Nahant  and  other  more  southerly  beaches. 

The  sea-mussel,  as  I  have  read,  was  in  the  olden  time  considered  a  cure  for 
piles  and  hemorrhoids,  being  dried  and  pulverized  for  the  purpose.  William 
Wood  speaks  of  a  scarlet  mussel  found  at  Piscataqua,  that,  on  being  pricked 
with  a  pin,  gave  out  a  purple  juice,  dying  linen  so  that  no  washing  would 
wear  it  out.      "We  mark  onr  handkerchiefs   and  shirts  with  it,"  says  this 


128 


TllK  MCW  KNGLANO  COAST. 


'i 


writer.'  Tlio  larL'o  mussel  is  very  tootlisoino.  I/ike  the  oyster  and  clam,  it 
was  (hied  ior  winter  use  by  llie  Indians. 

Tile  giant  or  iieii  elain-sluli,  found  in  every  buttery  within  tilly  milos  of 
the  euasl,  was  the  Indian's  gai'den  hoe.  After  a  storm  many  clams  would 
be  cast  up  on  the  beaches,  wliii-h  the  natives,  taking  out  of  the  shells,  carried 
home  ill  baskets.  A  large  shell  will  hold  a  plentiful  draught  of  water,  and  is 
unequaled  ibr  a  milk -skimmer.  Only  a  part  of  the  fish  is  used  for  food,  as 
there  is  a  general  belief  that  a  portion  is  jioisonous,  like  the  head  of  a  lobstoi'. 
Mourt's  relation  of  the  landing  of  the  pilgrims  at  Cape  Cod  says  they  found 
"great  mussels,  and  very  fat  and  full  of  sea-pearle,  but  we  could  not  eat  them, 
for  they  made  us  all  sieke  that  did  eat,  as  well  saylers  as  passengers."  As 
they  are  only  found  on  the  beach  after  an  easterly  storm,  they  become  well 
tilled  with  sand,  and  recpiire  thorough  (deansiug  before  cooking,  while  lliosi' 
taken  from  the  water  near  the  shore  are  better,  because  free  from  sand,  'flio 
common  elam  is  not  eaten  along  shore  during  the  summer,  except  at  the  ho- 
tels and  boarding-houses,  not  being  considered  wholesome  by  the  resident 
liojjulation  in  any  month  that  has  not  the  letter  K.  The  same  idea  is  current 
with  respect  to  the  oyster.  In  either  case  the  summer  is  inferior  to  the  win- 
ter fish,  and  as  Charles  XII.  once  said  of  the  army  bread, "  It  is  not  good,  but 
may  be  eaten." 

There  was  but  little  sea-weed  or  kelp  thrown  up,  though  above  high-water 
mark  I  noticed  large  slacks  of  it  ready  to  be  hauled  away,  containing  ;is 
many  varieties  as  commonly  grow  among  the  rocks  hereaway.  But  time 
were  innumerable  cockles  and  periwinkles  lately  come  ashore,  and  eniittin;; 
no  pleasant  odor.  The  natives  used  both  these  sliells  to  manufiieture  their 
wampum,  or  wamiximpeag,  the  delicate  inner  wreath  of  the  jjeriwinkle  being 
preferred.  Now  and  then  I  ])icked  up  a  sea-chestnut,  or  "  whore's  (^"^jX,"'''  as 
they  are  called  by  the  tishermen.  But  the  sand  roller,  or  circle,  is  the  euri- 
ositj'  of  the  beach  as  a  specimen  of  ocean  handicraft.  I  passed  many  of  them 
scattered  about,  though  a  perfect  one  is  rarely  found,  except  on  shallow  l)ars 
beyond  low-water  mark.  Looking  down  over  the  side  of  a  boat,  I  have  seen 
more  than  I  was  able  to  count  readily,  but  they  are  too  fragile  to  bear  the 
buffeting  of  the  surf  In  appearance  they  are  like  a  section  taken  off  the  top 
of  a  jug  where  the  cork  is  jiut  in,  and  as  neatly  rounded  as  if  turned  off  a  pot- 
ter's lathe.     Naturalists  call  them  the  nest  of  the  cockle. 

Going  down  the  sands  as  far  as  the  sea  would  allow,  I  remarked  that  tlio 
nearest  breakers  were  discolored  with  the  rubbish  of  shredded  sea-weed,  niid 


*  In  Englimd  there  is  a  cockle  culled  tlie  purple,  from  the  coloring  mntter  it  contains,  believed 
to  be  one  of  the  sources  from  which  the  celebrated  Tyrian  dye  was  ol)tained.  Tlie  discovery  is  iit- 
tribnted  in  mythical  story  to  ii  dog.  The  Tyrian  Ilercnles  was  one  day  Avalking  with  his  sweet- 
heart tiy  the  shore,  followed  by  her  lajj-dog,  when  the  animal  seizes!  .i  shell  just  cast  upon  the  hoadi. 
Its  lijjs  were  stained  with  the  beautiful  pur])le  flowing  from  the  shell,  und  its  mistress,  charmed  with 
the  color,  demanded  a  dress  d^'ed  with  it  of  her  lover. 


ACJAMENTICUS,  THE  ANCIENT  CITY. 


129 


1)V  tlic  particles  of  saiul  tliey  lii'ld  in  solution.  As  I  walked  on,  countless  sand- 
fleas  skipped  out  of  my  path,  as  I  have  seen  grasshoppers  in  a  stuhble-fieltl 
out  West.  Tlio  gandpii)ers  ran  eagerly  about  in  pursuit,  giving  little  j>laint- 
ive  scpieaks,  and  leaving  their  tiny  tracks  impressed  upon  the  wet  sand.  Little 
sprites  they  seemed  as  they  chased  the  refluent  wave  for  their  Ibod,  sometimes 
ovcrtiiken  and  borne  ofl' their  feet  by  the  glancing  surf.  I  rememl)er  having 
scon  a  flock  of  hens  scratching  among  the  sea-moss  for  these  very  beach-fleas 
ill  one  of  the  coves  I  passed. 

Old  Neptune's  garden  contains  as  wonderful  plants  as  any  above  high- 
wutcr  mark,  though  the  latter  do  well  with  less  watering.  I  have  thought 
the  botany  of  the  sea  worth  studying,  and,  as  it  is  sometimes  inconvenient  to 
pluck  a  plant  or  a  flower  when  you  want  it,  the  beach  is  the  ])lace  for  speci- 
luciis.  Some  years  ago  delicate  sea-mosses  were  in  request.  They  were  kept 
iu  albums,  ])ressed  like  autumn  leaves,  or  displayed  in  frames  on  the  walls  at 
hoiiK'.  It  was  a  j)retty  conceit,  and  employed  many  leisure  Angers  at  thv 
sea-side,  but  appears  to  have  been  discarded  of  late. 

One  day,  during  a  storm,  I  went  down  to  the  beach,  to  find  it  oncinnbercd 
with  "devils' apron"  and  kelp,  whitening  where  it  lay.  I  picked  up  a  plant 
having  a  long  stalk,  slender  and  hollow,  of  more  than  ten  feet  in  length,  re- 
sembling a  gutta-percha  tube.  The  root  was  firmly  clasped  around  live  deep- 
sea  mussels,  while  the  other  end  terminated  in  broad,  jjlaited  leaves.  It  had 
Iieen  torn  from  its  bed  in  some  sea-cranny,  to  be  combined  with  terrestrial 
vegetation;  but  to  the  mussels  it  was  equal  whether  they  died  of  thirst  or 
oftiic  grip  of  the  talon-like  root  of  the  kelp.  There  were  tons  upon  tons  of 
weed  and  moss,  which  the  farmers  were  pitching  with  forks  higher  up  the 
l)eacli,  out  of  reach  of  the  sea,  the  kelp,  as  it  was  being  tossed  about,  quiver- 
ing as  if  there  were  life  in  it.  I  found  the  largest  mass  of  sponge  I  have  ever 
seen  on  shore — as  big  as  a  man's  head — and  was  at  a  loss  how  to  describe  it, 
until  I  thought  of  the  mops  used  on  shipboard,  and  made  of  rope-yarns ;  for 
this  body  of  sponge  was  composed  of  slender  branches  of  si.x  to  twelve  inches 
in  length,  each  branching  again,  coral-like,  into  three  or  four  oftshoots.  The 
pores  were  alive  with  sand-fleas,  who  showed  great  partiality  for  it. 

What  at  first  seems  paradoxical  is,  that  with  the  wind  blowing  directly 
on  shore,  the  kelp  will  not  land,  but  is  kept  just  beyond  the  surf  by  the  un- 
iler-tow;  it  requires  an  inshore  wind  to  bring  it  in.  One  who  has  walked  on 
the  beach  weaves  of  its  sea-weed  a  garland  : 

"  From  Bermuda's  reefs,  from  edges 

Of  sunken  ledges, 
On  some  far-off,  bright  Azore; 
From  Bahama  and  the  dashing, 

Silver-flashing 
Surges  of  San  Salvador: 


9 


130  THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 

Ever  drifting,  drifting,  drifting 

Oil  tliu  sliifling 
CunciitH  of  tiic  restless  nuiin." 

I  had  before  wjilkod  romul  the  capo  one  way,  aiul  now,  passinpf  it  from  a 
contrary  iliroction,  liad  fairly  doubletl  it.  After  leaving  York  lieaeh  I  piisli- 
ed  on  for  Old  York,  finding  little  to  arrest  my  steps,  until  at  night-fall  1  ar- 
rived at  tlie  harbor,  after  a  twenty-mile  tramp,  witli  an  ajjpetite  that  augured 
ill  for  mine  host. 

It  was  not  my  first  visit  to  Old  York,  but  I  fouiul  the  place  strangely 
altered  from  its  usual  quiet  and  dullness.  The  summer,  as  Charles  I,;uiil( 
says,  had  set  in  with  its  usual  severity,  and  I  saw  fishers  in  varnished  bciots, 
boatmen  in  tight-fitting  trowsers,  and  enough  young  Americans  in  navy  liliic 
to  man  a  fieet  by-and-by.  Parasols  fluttered  about  the  fields,  and  silks  swept 
the  wet  rtoor  of  the  beach.  I  had  examined  with  a  critical  eye  as  I  walked 
the  impressions  of  dainty  boots  in  the  sand,  keeping  step  with  others  of  nioic 
masculine  shape,  and  marked  where  the  pace  had  slackened  or  quickftied. 
and  where  the  larger  pair  had  diverged  for  a  moment  to  pick  up  a  stone  or  ;i 
l»ebble,  or  perchance  in  hurried  self-communing  for  a  tpiestion  of  mighty  jni 
port.  Sometimes  the  foot-prints  diverged  not  to  meet  again,  and  I  saw  the 
gentleman  had  walked  ofi'  with  rapid  strides  in  the  ojjposite  direction.  For 
hours  on  the  beach  I  had  watched  these  human  tracks,  almost  as  devious  as 
the  bird's,  until  I  fancied  I  should  know  their  makers.  Xot  unfre(|uciitly  I 
espied  a  monogram,  traced  with  a  stick  or  the  point  of  a  jiarasol,  the  Icysei 
initials  lovingly  twined  about  the  greater.  FaitlP.  1  came  to  regard  tln' 
beach  itself  as  a  larger  sort  of  tablet  graven  with  hieroglyphics,  easy  to  di- 
cipher  if  yon  have  the  key. 

The  liotel'  appeared  deserted,  but  it  was  only  a  seclusion  of  calculation. 
After  supper  the  guests  set  about  what  I  may  call  their  usual  avocations. 
Not  a  few  "  paired  oft',"  «is  they  say  at  Washington,  for  a  walk  on  the  beach, 
springing  down  the  ])ath  with  elastic  step  and  voices  full  of  joyous  niirtli. 
One  or  two  maiilens  I  had  seen  rowing  on  the  river  showed  blistered  hands 
to  condoling  cavaliers.  Young  matrons,  carefully  shawled  by  their  husbands, 
sauntered  off  for  a  quiet  evening  ramble,  or  mingled  in  the  frolic  of  the  Juve- 
niles going  on  in  the  parlor.  The  dowagers  all  sought  a  particidar  sitle  of 
the  house,  where,  out  of  ear-shot  of  the  piano,  they  solaced  tliemselves  witli 
the  evening  newspapers,  damp  from  presses  sixty  miles  away.  A  few  choice 
spirits  gathered  in  the  smoking-room,  where  they  maintained  a  frigid  reserve 
toward  all  new-comers,  their  conversation  coming  out  between  pufts,  as  voiil 
of  warmth  as  the  vapor  that  rises  from  ice.  On  the  beach,  and  alone  with 
inanimate  objects,  I  had  comj^any  enough  and  to  spare;  here,  with  a  huiulreil 


'  Situated  on  Stage  Neck,  a  rocky  peninsula  connected  with  the  main  shore  by  a  narrow  isth- 
mus, on  which  is  a  beach.     There  was  foriiierly  a  fort  on  the  north-east  point  of  the  Neik. 


AGAMliNTICUS,  Tllli  ANCIENT  CITY. 


131 


of  my  own  spocies,  it  w.'is  positivi'ly  droary.  I  touk  a  turn  on  tlu*  piazza,  and 
8001)  retired  to  my  cull;  tor  in  tliotiu  large  canivunsai-icu  man  losus  his  indi- 
viduality and  bt'conic's  a  number. 

Old  Y'ork,  bo  it  remembered,  is  one  of  those  places  toward  which  the  his- 
tory of  a  country  or  a  section  converges.  Thus,  when  you  are  in  Maine  all 
idiiils,  liistoricaliy  speakin<;,  lead  to  Y'ork.  Lon<^  belure  there  was  any  set- 
ik'iiiciit  it  had  become  well  known  from  its  mountain  and  its  position  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua.  Its  first  name  was  ^\<ji\menticus.  Says  Smith, 
"Accominticns  and  I'ascataquack  are  two  convenient  harbors  for  small  barks, 
iiiul  11  •j^ood  country  within  their  cragujy  cliil's:"  this  in  1014.  He  could  not 
liiivo  sounded,  perhaps  not  even  ascended,  the  Piscataqua. 

C'lnistopher  Levett,  in  his  voyaj^e,  bei;un  in  1C2.'{  and  ended  in  1024,  says 
(if  this  situation:  ".Vbout  two  lea<;iies  farther  to  the  cast  (of  Piseataqua)  is 
uiioliier  great  river,  called  A'piameuticus,  There,  I  think,  a  good  plantation 
iiiiiv  ho  settled;  for  there  is  a  good  harbor  for  ships,  good  ground,  and  much 
aiiTiidy  cleared,  tit  for  planting  of  corn  and  other  fruits,  having  hciretofore 
liieii  planted  by  the  savages,  who  are  all  dead.  There  is  good  timber,  and 
likely  to  be  good  fishing;  but  as  yet  there  hath  been  no  t.ial  made  that  I  can 
hear  of."  Levett  was  one  of  the  Council  of  New  England,  joined  with  Rob- 
ert (iorges,  Francis  West,  and  (Jovernor  IJradford.  From  his  account,  Aga- 
nu'iitieus  appears  to  have  been  a  permanent  habitation  of  the  Indians,  who 
had  been  stricken  by  the  same  plague  that  desolated  what  was  afterward 
New  I'iymouth. 

The  first  English  settlement  was  begun  probably  in  1024,  but  not  earlier 
thiiii  1<52;3,  on  both  sides  of  York  Kiver,  by  Francis  Norton,  who  had  raised 
liiinself  at  home  from  the  rank  of  a  common  soldier  to  be  a  lieutenant-colonel 
ill  the  army.  This  was  Norton's  project,  and  he  had  the  address  to  persuade 
Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  to  unite  in  the  undertaking.  Artificers  to  build  mills, 
cattle,  and  other  necessaries  for  establishing  the  plantation,  were  sent  over. 
A  patent  passed  to  Ferdinando  Gorges,  Norton,  and  others,  of  twelve  thou- 
sand acres  on  the  east  to  Norton,  and  twelve  thousand  on  the  west  of  Aga- 
meiiticus  Itiver  to  Gorges.  Captain  William  Gorges  was  sent  out  by  iiis  un- 
cle to  represent  that  interest.' 

The  plantation  at  Agamenticus  was  incorporated  into  a  borough  in  1641, 
ami  subsequently,  in  1642,  into  a  city,  nnder  the  name  of  Gorgeana.  Thomas 
Gorges,  cousin  of  Sir  F.  Gorges,  and  father  of  Ferdinando,  was  the  first  mayor. 
It  was  also  made  a  free  port.  Though  Gorgeana  was  probably  the  first  in- 
corporated city  in  America,  it  was  in  reality  no  more  than  an  inconsiderable 
sea-coast  village,  M'ith  a  few  liouses  in  some  of  the  best  places  for  fishing  and 
iiavigation.  Its  territory  was,  however,  ample,  embracing  twenty-one  square 
miles.    There  was  little  order  or  morality  among  the  people,  and  in  one  ac- 


'  Sir  F.  Gorgcs's  own  relation. 


132 


THE  NEW  ENGI.AND  COAST. 


count  it  is  said  "they  had  as  many  shares  in  a  woman  as  a  fisliing  boat.'  AH 
the  earlier  authorities  I  have  seen  agree  in  giving  Gorgeana  an  inditlereat 
character,  and  I  was  not  surprised  to  tind  a  couplet  still  extant,  expressive  of 
the  local  estimate  in  which  its  villages  were  once  held. 

"  Cnpe  Xeddoi'k  and  the  Nubble, 
Old  York  and  the  d— 1." 

Governor  Winthrop,  of  Massaclmsetts,  niad"^  in  1043,  the  following  entry 
in  his  "Journal :"  "Those  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorge  his  i)rovince  beyond  Pis- 
cat  were  not  admitted  to  the  confederation,"  because  they  ran  a  dilU'ioiit 
course  from  us,  both  in  their  ministry  and  civil  administration;  for  lliey  had 
lately  made  Accomenticus  (a  poor  village)  a  c()ri)oration,  and  had  made  a 
taylor  their  mayor,  and  had  entertained  one  Mr.  Mull,  an  excommunicated 
person,  and  very  contentious,  for  their  minister,"  A  Boston  man,  and  a  iiia'j;- 
istrate,  stood  thus  early  on  his  dignity. 

Sir  F.  Gorges  makes  his  appeai'anoe  in  that  brilliant  and  eventful  pcvioii 
when  Elizabeth  ruled  in  England,  Henry  IV.  in  France,  and  Philip  II.  in 
Spain,  He  is  said  to  have  revealed  the  conspiracy  of  Devereux,  earl  of  Es- 
sex, to  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh,  after  having  himself  been  privy  to  it."  This 
act,  a  bar-sinister  in  the  biography  of  Gorges,  sullies  his  escutcheon  at  the 
outset.  History  must  nevertheless  award  that  he  was  the  most  zealous,  tlio 
most  indefatigable,  and  the  most  influential  of  those  who  freely  gave  their 
talents  and  their  wealth  to  the  cause  of  American  colonization.  Gorges 
deserves  to  be  called  the  father  of  New  England.  For  more  than  forty 
years — extending  through  the  reigns  of  James  I.  and  of  Charles  I.,  the  Com- 
monwealth, and  the  Restoration — he  pursued  liis  favorite  idea  with  a  con- 
stancy that  seems  almost  marvelous  when  the  troublous  times  in  which  ho 
lived  are  passed  in  review.  In  a  letter  to  Buckingham  on  the  affairs  of 
Spain,  Gorges  says  he  was  sometimes  thought  worlliy  to  be  consulted  hy 
Elizabeth. 

Sir  Ferdinando  commanded  at  Plymouth,  England,  with  his  nephew  "Wil- 
liam for  his  lieutenant,  when  Captain  Weymouth  returned  to  that  port  fron. 
New  England.  On  board  Weymouth's  ship  were  five  natives,  of  whom  threi' 
were  seized  by  Gorges.  They  were  detained  by  him  until  they  were  able 
to  give  an  account  of  the  topogra])hj'^,  rcsourci  s,  and  peoples  of  their  far-otl' 
country.  From  this  circumstance  dates  Gorges's  active  participation  in  New 
England  aflairs. 

He  was  interested  in  Lord  John  Popham's  ineffectual  attempt.     Finding 


'  About  lfi47  the  settlements  nt  Agnnienticiis  were  made  a  town  by  the  name  of  Yoik,  ]irobfl- 
bly  from  En<;li.sh  York. 

"  (Confederation  of  the  colonies  for  mutiinl  protection. 

'  Eli/.iibeth  died  wliile  Martin  I'ring  was  preparing  to  sail  for  America  ;  and  Essex  and  Kuleigli 
both  went  to  the  block. 


AGAMENTICUS,  THE  ANCIENT  CITY. 


133 


the  disasters  of  that  expedition,  at  liome  and  abroad,  had  so  disheartened  his 
associates  that  he  could  no  longer  reckon  on  their  assistance,  he  dispatched 
Richard  Vines  and  others  at  his  own  charge,  auout  1617,  to  the  same  coast 
t'lio  Popham  colonists  had  branded,  on  their  return,  as  too  cold  to  be  inhab- 
ited by  FCnglishmen.  Vines  established  himself  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Saco.  Between  the  years  1617  and  1620,  Gorges  sent  Captains  Hobson,  Ro- 
croft,  and  Derrner  to  New  England,  but  their  voyages  were  barren  of  results. 
In  1620  Gorges  and  others  obtained  from  the  king  a  separate  patent,  with 
similar  privileges,  exemption  from  custom,  subsidies,  etc.,  such  as  had  for- 
iiicily  been  granted  the  Virginia  Company. 

I)y  this  patent  the  adventurers  to  what  had  heretofore  been  known  as 
tlie  "  Northern  Colony  in  Virginia,"  and  "  Tiie  Second  Colony  in  Virginia," 
obtained  an  enlargement  of  territory,  so  as  to  include  all  between  the  fortieth 
and  forty-eighth  parallels,  and  extending  westward  to  the  South  Sea  or  Pa- 
cific Ocean.  This  was  the  Great  Charter  of  New  England,  out  of  which 
were  made  the  subsequent  grants  within  its  territory.  The  incorporators 
were  styled  "The  Council  of  Plymouth."' 

Tiie  Virginia  Com])any,  whose  rights  were  invaded,  attempted  to  annul 
the  Plymouth  Company's  patent.  Defeated  before  the  Lords,  they  brought 
the  subject  the  next  year,  1621,  before  Parliament,  as  a  monopoly  and  a  griev- 
mice  of  the  Commonwealth.  Gorges  was  cited  to  appear  at  the  bar  of  the 
House,  and  made  his  defense,  Sir  Edward  Coke"  being  then  Speaker.  After 
hearing  the  arguments  of  Gorges  and  his  lawyers  on  three  several  occasions, 
the  House,  in  presenting  the  grievances  of  the  kingdom  to  the  throne,  placed 
"Sir  Fcrd.  Gorges's  patent  for  sole  fishing  in  New  England"  at  the  head  of 
the  catalogue;  but  Parliament,  having  made  itself  obnoxious  to  James,  was 
dissolved,  and  some  of  its  members  committed  to  the  Tower.  The  patent 
was  saved  for  a  time. 

Before  this  affair  of  the  Parliament  the  Pilgrims  had  made  their  ever-fa- 
mons  hindinc,  in  New  England.  Finding  themselves,  contrary  to  their  first 
intenlioii,  located  within  the  New  England  patent,  they  applied  through 
their  solicitor  in  England  to  Gorges  for  a  grant  and  in  1623  they  obtained 
it.  Tliis  was  the  first  p.atent  of  Plymouth  Colony  ;  m  1629  they  had  another, 
made  to  William  Bradford  and  his  associates. 

In  1623  the  frequent  complaints  to  the  Council  of  Plymouth  of  the  abuses 
and  disorders  committed  by  fishermen  and  other  intruders  within  their  pa- 
lent,  determined  them  to  send  out  an  officer  to  represent  their  authority  on 
llic  spot.  Robert  Gorges,  son  of  Sir  Ferdinando,  was  fixed  upon,  and  became 
for  a  short  time  invested  with  the  powers  of  a  civil  magistrate.  According 
to  Belknap,  he  was  styled  "  Lieutenant-general  of  New  England."  George 
Popham  was  the  first  to  exercise  a  local  authority  within  her  limits. 


'  The  insertion  of  the  lengthy  title  in  full  appears  unnecessary.       •  The  celebrated  commentator. 


134 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


The  Groat  Charter  of  New  Englaiul  was  surrendered  to  the  crown  in 
April,  1635,  and  tlie  territory  embraced  within  it  was  parceled  out  atnono' 
tl)e  patentees,  Gorges  receiving  for  his  share  a  tract  of  sixty  miles  in  extent, 
from  the  Merrimac  to  the  Kennebec,  reaching  into  the  country  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles.  This  tract  was  called  the  province  of  Maine,  It  was  di- 
vided by  Gorges  into  eight  bailiwicks  or  counties,  and  these  again  itito  six- 
teen hundreds,  after  the  manner  of  the  Chiltern  Hundreds,  a  fief  of  the  Eiiglisli 
crown.     The  Hundreds  were  subdivided  into  parishes  and  tithings. 

It  would  fatigue  the  reader  to  enter  into  the  details  of  the  government 
established  by  Gorges  within  what  he  calls  "  my  province  of  Maine."  It  was 
exceedingly  cumbrous,  and  the  few  inhabitants  were  in  as  great  danger  of 
being  governed  too  much  as  later  communities  have  often  been.  An  animal 
rental  was  laid  on  the  lands,  and  no  sale  or  transfer  could  be  made  witliout 
consent  of  the  Council,  This  distinction,  as  against  the  neighboring  colony 
of  Massachusetts,  where  all  were  freeholders,  was  fatal.  The  crown,  in  con- 
firming the  grant  to  Gorges,  vested  him  with  privileges  and  powers  similar 
to  those  of  the  lords  palatine  of  the  ancient  city  of  Durham.  Under  this  au- 
thority the  plantation  at  Agamenticus  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  oity, 
and  a  quasi  ecclesiastical  government  founded  in  New  England. 

Belknap  says  further  that  there  was  no  provision  for  public  institutions. 
Schools  were  unknown,  and  they  had  no  minister  till,  in  pity  of  their  dei)lora- 
ble  state,  two  went  thither  from  Boston  on  a  voluntary  mission. 

There  are  yet  some  interesting  objects  to  be  seen  in  York,  though  few  of 
the  old  houses  ai'c  remaining  at  the 
harbor.  These  few  will,  however,  re- 
pay a  visit.  Prominent  among  her  an- 
tiquities is  the  meeting- liouse  of  the 
first  parish.  An  inscription  in  the 
foundation  records  as  follows: 

"Foiindef'.  a.  n.  1747. 
The  Revd.  Ux.  Moody,  Pas." 

T!io  cli'.'.rch  is  placed  on  a  grassy 
knoll,  with  the  parsonage  behind  it. 
Its  exterior  is  plain.  If  such  a  dis- 
tinction may  be  made,  it  belongs  to 
the  third  order  of  New  England 
churches,  succeeding  to  the  square 
tunnel-roofed  edifice,  as  that  had  suc- 
ceeded the  original  barndike  liousc  ot 
worship.  Entering  the  porch,  I  saw 
two  biers  leaninir  asiainst  the   stair- 


case of  the  bell-tower,  and  noticed  that 


the  bell-ringer  or  his  assistants  had  indulged  a  p 


YORK  MEETIN0UOU»E. 

ission  for  scribblinji  on 


the 


A^'AMENTICUS,  THE  ANCIENT  CITY. 


135 


walls,  though  not,  as  niiglit  bo  iiifcri-ed,  from  Scripture  texts.  Tiie  interior  is 
as  severe  as  the  exterior.  Besitles  its  rows  of  str-iight-backed  pews,  it  was 
t'liniished  at  one  end  with  a  mahogany  ])ulpit,  <-oinnuinion- table,  and  sofa 
covered  with  black  hair-cloth.  Hanging  in  a  frame  against  the  pulpit  are 
fac'-siiniles  of  letters  from  tlie  church  at  York  to  that  of  Rowley,  bearing  the 
(late  of  1673.  The  tower  is  an  ingenious  piece  of  joinery  that  reminded  me 
of  Iliiigham  church. 

Slnil)ael  Duinuier,  the  first  minister  of  this  parish,  was  killed  in  1G92,  at 
the  sacking  of  the  place  by  the  Indians.  lie  was  shot  down  in  the  act  of 
mounting  his  horse  at  his  own  door,  a  sliort  distance  toward  the  harbor. 
Mather,  in  his  "Magnalia,"  indulges  in  a  strain  of  eulogy  toward  this  gentle- 
luau  tha.  we  sliould  now  call  hifalntln.  I)unini('r''s  successor  was  Samuel 
Moody,  an  eccentric  but  useful  minister,  still  spoken  of  as  "Parson  Moody." 
IIo  was  Sir  William  Pepperell's  chaplain  in  the  Louisburg  expedition,  and 
noted  for  the  length  and  fervor  of  liis  prayers- 
After  tlie  capitulation  Sir  William  gave  a  dinner  to  the  superior  officers 
of  the  army  ami  fleet.  Knowing  the  prolixity  of  his  chaplain,  he  was  em- 
barrassed by  the  thouglit  tliat  the  pai-son's  long-winded  grace  might  weary 
the  admiral  and  others  of  his  guests.  In  this  dilemma,  he  was  astonished  to 
soe  the  parson  advance  and  address  tlie  throne  of  grace  in  these  words:  "O 
Lord,  we  have  so  many  things  to  thank  thee  for,  that  time  will  be  infinitely 
too  short  for  it;  we  must  therefore  leave  it  for  the  work  of  eternity." 

A  second  parish  was  formed  in  York  about  1730.  Kev.  Joseph  Moody, 
the  son  of  Samuel,  was  ordained  its  first  pastor,  in  1732.  At  the  death  of  his 
wife  he  fell  into  a  settled  melancholy,  and  constanth^  appeared  with  his  face 
covered  with  a  handkerchief.  From  this  circumstance  he  was  called  "  Hand- 
kerchief Moody."  He  was  possessed  of  wit,  and  some  dreary  anecdotes  are 
related  of  him.  INIr.  Hawthorne  has  made  the  incident  of  the  handkerchief 
the  iVame-work  of  one  of  his  gloomiest  tales.  I  know  of  no  authority  other 
tliaii  tradition  to  support  the  statement  made  in  a  note  accompanying  the 
tale,  that  "in  early  life  he  (Moody)  had  accidentally  killed  a  beloved  friend."' 
It  is  only  a  short  distance  from  tlie  church  to  the  old  burying-grouiid,  and 
I  was  soon  busy  among  the  inscriptions,  though  I  did  not  find  them  as  in- 
teresting as  I  had  anticipated.  The  place  seemed  wholly  uncared  for.  The 
;ji'ass  grew  rank  and  tangled,  maknig  the  examination  difficult,  and  at  every 
step  I  sank  to  the  knee  in  some  hollow.  The  yard  is  ridged  with  graves, 
and  must  have  received  the  dust  of  many  generations,  going  back  even  to 
those  who  acknowledged  the  first  James  lor  their  dread  lord  and  sovereign. 


'  We  are  warrnnted  in  the  belief  tliat  tlie  first  services  held  in  this  plan'.ation  were  those  of  the 
Chmrh  of  England.  Tlie  first,  or  borongii,  charter  mentions  tlie  church  chapel.  Ilohert  Gorges, 
ill  lf)L*:!,  brought  over  an  Episcojml  chaplain,  William  Morrell,  and  with  him  also  cume,  as  is  sup- 
lioseJ,  liev.  William  IJlackstone,  the  fust  inhabitant  of  Boston. 


136 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


As  usual,  the  older  stones,  when  I  had  found  them,  were  too  much  defaced 
to  be  decipliered,  and  I  remarked  that  the  slate  grave-stone  of  Parson  Moody 
preserved  but  few  of  its  original  lines.  Beside  him  lay  the  remains  of  liis 
wife.     The  following  is  his  own  epitaph : 

"  Here  lies  the  Ijody  of  the 

Rev'd  SAMUEL  MOODY,  A.M. 

The  zealous,  faithful,  and  successful  pastor  of  the 

First  Church  of  Christ  in  York. 

Was  born  in  Newbury,  January  4th,  1675. 

Graduated  1697.    Came  hither  May  i6th. 

Died  here  November  13th,  1747. 

For  his  farther  character  read  the  2d  Corinthians, 

3d  chapter  and  first  six  verses." 

In  the  corner  cf  the  ground  next  the  main  street  is  the  monumental  tahli't 
of  Hon.  David  Sewall.  A  plain  slab  of  slate  at  his  side  marks  the  restiiif;- 
•place  of  his  wife.  On  this  are  enumerated  some  of  the  public  offices  held  by 
her  husband,  and  the  two  monuments  might  furnish  the  reader  with  materials 
for  a  biography. 

Mr.  Adams,  in  his  "Diary,"  notes  meeting  his  "old  friend  and  classmate" 
at  York,  when  he  was  going  the  circuit  in  1770.  Sewall  had  just  returned 
from  a  party  of  pleasure  at  Agamenticus,  and  the  talk  was  of  erecting  a  hea- 
con  upon  it.  At  this  time  lie  was  looked  upon  as  a  Tory,  but  became  a  zeal- 
ous Whig  before  hostilities  with  the  mother  country  began. 


.JAIL   AT  OI,D   VOHK. 


In  1640,  says  Lechford,  nothing  was  read  nor  any  funeral  sermon  made  at 
a  burial,  but  at  the  tolling  of  the  bell  all  the  neighborhood  came  together, 
atid  after  bearing  the  dead  solemnly  to  the  grave,  stood  by  until  it  was  closed. 
The  ministers  were  commonly,  but  not  always,  present.  In  these  few  and 
simple  rites  our  fathers  testified 

"The  emptiness  of  human  pride, 
The  nuthingness  uf  man." 


AGAMENTICUS,  THE  ANCIENT  CITY. 


187 


ll.l.OUY. 


On  a  rising  ground  opposite  tho  town-house  is  the  old  jjiil  of  York.  I 
liavc  deemed  it  wortliy  .i  passing  notice.  It  is  a  quaint  old  structure,  and 
has  held  many  culprits  in  former  times,  when  York  was  tlie  seat  of  justice  for 
the  county,  though  it  would  not  keep  your  modern  burglar  an  hour.  It  is 
perched,  like  a  bird  of  ill  omen,  on  a  rocky  ledge,  where  all  might  see  it  in 
passing  over  the  high-road.  Thus,  in  the  early  day,  the  traveler  on  enter- 
ing the  county  town  encountered,  first,  tlie  stocks  and 
^  -_  ■-,:i^..™|  whipping- post ;  continuing  his  route,  he  in  due  time 
r^^'^li^-!^'^^  came  to  the  gallows,  at  the  town's  end.  The  exterior 
of  the  jail  is  not  especially  repulsive,  now  that  it  is  no 
longer  a  prison;  but  the  inside  is  a  relic  of  barbarism 
— just  such  a  place  as  I  have  often  imagined  the  miser- 
able witchcraft  j)risoners  might  have  been  contined  in. 
The  back  wall  is  of  stone.  The  doors  are  six  inches 
of  solid  oak,  studded  with  heavy  nails;  the  gratings 
secured  with  the  blades  of  mill  saws,  having  the  jagged 
teeth  upward ;  the  sills,  locks,  and  bolts  are  ponderous, 
and  unlike  any  thing  the  ])resent  century  has  produced. 
The  dungeons,  of  which  there  are  two,  admitted  no 
ray  of  light  except  when  the  doors  were  opened;  and 
these  doors  were  of  two  thicknesses  of  oaken  planks 
blinded  between  with  plates  of  iron,  and  on  the  outside  with  rusty  blades  of 
mill  saws,  as  were  also  the  crevices  through  which  the  jailer  passed  bread 
;uid  water  to  the  wretched  criminals.  The  gloom 
and  squalor  of  these  cacliots  oppressed  the  spirits 
of  even  the  casual  visitor,  free  to  come  and  go  at 
pleasure;  what  must  it,  then,  have  been  to  the 
wretches  condemned  to  iidiabit  them  ?  Above 
these  dungeons  were  two  or  three  cells,  secured 
by  precautions  similar  to  those  below;  wliiU' 
other  apartments  were  reserved  for  the  jailer's 
use.  Tlie  house  was  inhabited,  and  chihlren 
were  i)laying  about  the  floor.  I  fancied  their 
iiK'iTv  laughter  issuing  from  solitary  dungeons  where  nothing  but  groans 
iiiid  imprecations  had  once  been  heard.  Perchance  there  have  been  Hester 
Pryinies  and  Cassaiulra  Southwicks  immured  within  these  walls. 

As  I  never  feel  quite  at  home  within  a  prison,  I  made  haste  to  get  into 
the  open  air  again.  I  noticed,  what  is  common  in  the  country,  that  an  un- 
tU'vpinning  of  boards  had  been  placed  around  the  fountlation  at  the  distance 
of  a  foot,  the  space  within  being  tilled  with  earth.  "That,"  said  a  whimsical 
fellow, "is  to  keep  the  coarsest  of  the  cold  out." 

They  have  a  jail  at  Alfred  hardly  more  secure  than  the  old.  I  was  told 
of  a  prisoner  who  coolly  informed  the  jailer  one  morning  that  if  he  did  not 


STOCKS. 


m 


138 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


supply  him  with  better  victuals  he  would  not  stay  another  day.  He  was  as 
good  as  his  word,  tnaking  his  escape  soon  after.  Wagner,  the  Isles  of  Shuals 
murderer,  also  broke  jail  at  Alfred,  but  was  recaptured. 

I  should  have  liked  to  devote  a  few  moments  to  the  old  court-house,  its 
eminent  and  distinguished  judges  and  barristers  of  the  jMovinciul  courts,  not 
forgetting  its  crier  and  constables.  I  sliould,  I  repeat,  like  to  open  the  court 
and  marshal  the  jurors,  witnesses,  and  even  the  idlers  to  their  places  in  the 
king's  name.  I  should  like  to  hear  some  of  those  now  antiquated,  but  tlum 
oft-quoted,  scraps  of  law  IVom  the  statutes  of  Richard  II.  or  Sixth  Edward. 
IJut  it  is  all  past.  IJag-wigs,  black  gowns,  and  silver  buckles  are  no  more 
seen,  except  in  family  portraits  of  the  time,  and  the  learned  counsel  of  to-day 
no  more  address  each  other  as  "  Brother  A "  or  "  B ."     There  do  re- 


main, however,  in  front  of  the  old  court-house  four  beautifully  spreading  elms, 
planted  by  David  Sewall  in  1773,  To  look  at  them  now,  it  is  not  easy  to 
fancy  they  could  be  grasped  with  the  hand  when  the  battle  of  Lexington  was 
fought. 

I  passed  on  by  the  old  tavern -stand  where  Woodbridge,  in  1770, 
swung  his  sign  of  "Billy  Pitt,"  and  underneath,  llie  words  "  Entortaiii- 
ment  for  the  Sons  of  Liberty" — a  liint  to  Tories  to  take  their  custom  olso- 
where.  I  should  have  enjoyed  a  pipe  with  that  landlord,  as  John  Adams 
says  he  did. 

In  Old  York  they  have  a  precinct  known  as  Scotland,  said  to  have  been 
first  settled  by  some  of  the  prisoners  of  Cromwell's  victory  at  Dunbar,  and 
shipped  over  seas  to  be  sold  as  apprentices  for  a  term  of  years.  I  was  bound 
thither  to  see  the  garrison  liouses  that  had  withstood  the  onset  of  the  Indians 
in  King  William's  war. 

It  is  four  miles  from  the  village  to  Scotland  parish,  the  road  passing 
through  broad  acres  of  cleared  land  or  ancient  orchards,  with  now  and  tlion  a 
by-waj'  of  green  turf  leading  to  a  farmhouse  on  the  river,  or  a  gleam  of  the 
stream  itself  winding  through  the  meadows  as  you  mount  the  rocky  hills  in 
your  route. 

Cider  Hill  is  a  classic  locality,  which  the  traveler  must  pass  through.  It 
is  well  named,  I  should  say,  the  trees,  though  old,  being  laden  with  apjtlos,  fit 
only  for  the  cider-press.  I  was  struck  with  the  age  of  the  orchards,  and  in- 
deed with  the  evidences  on  all  sides  of  the  long  occuj)ancy  of  the  land.  In 
going  up  and  down  the  traveled  roads  of  York  the  impression  is  every  wliere 
gained  of  an  old  settled  country. 

By  the  side  of  the  road  is  the  withered  trunk  of  an  ancient  tree,  said  to 
have  been  brought  from  England  in  a  tub  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago. 
Nothing  remains  but  the  hollow  shell,  which  still  puts  forth  a  few  green 
shoots.  Next  to  the  rocks,  it  is  the  oldest  object  on  the  road.  At  a  little 
distance  it  has  sent  up  an  offshoot,  now  a  tree  bearing  fruit,  and  has  thus 
risen  again,  as  it  were,  from  its  own  ashes.     This  tree  deserves  to  be  reincra- 


AGAMENTICUS,  THE  ANCIENT  CITV, 


139 


bcrod  along  with  the  Stuyvcsant  and  Endioott  pcar-trcos.     Tlicrc  is,  or  was 


illK 


'em, 


)thcr  ajjple-trce  of  equal  ago  with  this  in  Hristol, 
"You  have  a  good  many  apples  this  year,"  I  said  to  a  farmer. 
"  Oh,  a  marster  sight  oii 
sir,  inarster  sigiit:  but 


OLD   GAUUISON-HOUSE. 


tlit'V  don't  fetch  nothing." 

"Is  tlie  cool  summer  in- 
juring your  corn  ?"  I  pur- 
8ia'(l. 

"  Snouted  it,  sir ;  snout- 
c.l  it." 

TlieJunkins's  garrison  is 
the  first  reached.  It  is  on 
the  brow  of  a  high  hill  over- 
looking the  river  meadows, 
where,  if  good  watch  were 
kept,  a  foe  could  hardly  have  approached  unseen.  It  can  not  survive  much 
longer.  It  is  dilapidated  inside  and  out  to  a  degree  that  every  blast  searches 
it  through  and  through.  The  doors  stood  ajar;  the  floors  were  littered  with 
coni-foddor,  and  a  hen  was  brooding  in  a  corner  of  the  best  room.  Having 
served  as  dwelling  and  castle,  it  embodies  the  economy  of  the  one  with  the 
security  of  the  other.  The  chitnney  is  of  itself  a  tower;  the  floor  timbers  of 
the  upper  story  project  on  all  sides,  so  as  to  allow  it  to  overhang  the  lower. 
This  was  a  typo  of  building  imported  from  England  by  the  early  settlers, 
common  enough  in  their  day,  and  of  which  specimens  are  still  extant  in  sucli 
of  our  older  towns  as  Boston,  Salem,  and  Marblehead.  Its  form  admitted, 
however,  of  a  good  defense.  The  walls  are  of  hewn  timber  about  six  inches 
thick,  and  bullet-proof  On  the  north-east,  and  where  the  timbers  were  ten 
inches  thick,  they  have  rotted  away  under  their  long  exposure  to  the  weather. 
I  observed  a  loop-hole  or  two  that  had  not  been  closed  ap,  and  that  the  roof 
frame  was  of  oak,  with  the  bark  adhering  to  it.' 

Li  one  room  was  an  old  hand-loom ;  in  another  a  spinning-wheel  lay  over- 
turned; and  in  the  fire-place  the  iron  crane,  blackciied  with  soot,  was  still 
fixed  as  it  might  liave  been  when  the  irarrison  was  beset  in  '92.     Between 


'Hutchinson  says:  "In  every  frontier  settlement  tliere  were  more  or  less  gnrrison  houses, 
some  witii  a  flankart  at  two  opposite  angles,  otiieis  at  each  corner  of  the  house ;  some  iiouses  sur- 
roiiiulud  with  palisadoes ;  others,  whi<'h  were  smaller,  built  with  sqnare  timber,  one  piecu  laid  hori- 
zontally upon  another,  and  loo])-holes  at  every  side  of  the  house ;  and  besides  these,  generally  in 
liny  more  considerable  plantation  there  was  one  garrison  house  capable  of  containing  soldiers  sent 
for  till!  defense  of  the  jiliintation,  and  the  families  near,  whose  houses  were  not  so  fortified.  It  was 
tlioiiglit  justifiable  and  necessary,  whatever  the  general  rule  of  law  might  be,  to  erect  such  forts, 
castles,  or  bulwarks  as  these  upon  a  man's  own  ground,  without  commission  or  special  license  there- 
for."—'* History  of  Massachusetts,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  07. 


140 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


the  house  and  the  road  is  the  Jiuikiiis's  family  burying-ground.  The  house 
attracts  many  curious  visitors,  thouj^h  it  lacks  its  ancient  warlike  accessories, 
its  lookouts,  palisades,  and  flaiikarts. 

A  few  rods  farther  on,  in  descending  the  hill,  is  the  M'Intire  garrison,  li 
is  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Berwick  road  from  the  house  through  which  I 
have  just  hurried  the  reader;  and,  except  that  a  newer  addition  has  been 
joined  to  the  garrison  part,  does  not  materially  dift'er  from  it.  Mr.  M'liitiie, 
now  the  owner  of  both  houses,  showed  me  an  opening  in  the  floor  of  the  pro- 
jection thiough  which,  according  to  the  family  tradition,  boiling  water  was 
poured  uj)on  the  heads  of  any  who  might  try  to  force  an  entrance. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  these  two  garrisons  were  erected  as  early  as 
1640  or  1G50.  As  no  motive  existed  for  building  such  houses  at  that  time, 
the  tradition  is  not  entitled  to  credit.  Few  of  the  Indians  wore  possess(>(l  of 
fire-arms,  as  the  sale  to  them  was  strictly  prohibited  in  the  English  colonics. 
The  digging  up  of  the  hatchet  by  the  eastern  Indians,  in  IGVG,  dui'ing  Philip's 
war,  probably  first  led  to  the  building  of  fortified  houses  in  all  the  sea-cuast 
towns.  During  the  attack  of  1G92,  the  four  garrisons  in  York  saved  the 
lives  of  those  they  sheltered,  while  fifty  of  the  defenseless  inhabitants  were 
killed  outright,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  led  prisoners  to  Canada. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  pi'.rsue  farther  the  liistory  of  ancient  Agamenticus, 
The  state  of  the  settlement  five  years  after  its  destruqtion  by  the  Indians  ap- 
pears in  a  memorial  to  the  French  minister,  prepared  in  order  to  show  the 
feasibility  of  a  thorough  wiping  out  of  the  English  settlements  from  Boston 
to  Pemaquid :  ' 

"From  Wells  Bay  to  York  is  a  distance  of  five  leagues.  There  is  a  fori 
within  a  river.  All  the  houses  having  been  destroyed  five  years  ago  by  the 
Indians,  the  English  have  re-assembled  at  this  place,  in  order  to  cultivate  their 
lands.     The  fort  is  worthless,  and  may  liave  a  garrison  of  forty  men." 

As  a  memorial  of  the  dark  days  when  settler  fought  with  savage,  the 
Junkins's  garrison-house  appeals  for  protection  in  its  decrepit  old  age.  Its 
frame  is  still  strong.  A  few  boards  and  a  kindly  hand  should  not  be  want- 
ing to  stay  its  ruin.     I  loft  it  as  for  nearly  two  hundred  years  it  has  stood, 

"  On  its  windy  site  uplifting  gnbled  roof  and  palisade, 
And  roiigli  walls  of  unhewn  timber  with  tlie  moonlight  overlaid," 


rOUrs.MOLTU,  NliW    UA.MJ'SUIKE,  I'KO.M   KITTEKV    UUlDiiU. 


L 


CHAPTER   X. 

AT   KITTEUY    POINT,  MAIXR. 

"  We  liave  no  title-deeds  to  house  or  lands ; 
Owners  and  occupiints  of  earlier  dates 
From  graves  forgotten  stretch  tlieir  dusty  hands, 
And  hold  in  mortmain  still  their  old  estates." 

L<1NGFELL()\V. 

OUIS  XV.  said  to  Bouret,  the  financier,  "  Yon  are  indeed  a  sincfular  per- 
son not  to  have  seen  Marly !  Call  upon  me  tliero,  and  I  will  siiow  it  to 
you." 

Our  way  lies  from  Old  York  to  Kittery  Point.'  To  get  from  the  one  to 
the  other  you  must  pass  the  bridge  over  York  River,  built  in  1761.  It  inau- 
gurated in  Now  England  the  then  novel  method  of  laying  the  bridge  srper- 
struc'ture  on  a  frame-work  formed  of  wooden  piles  driven  into  the  bed  of  the 
river.  The  inventor  was  IMajor  Samuel  Sewall,  of  York,  whose  bridge  was 
the  model  of  those  subsequently  built  over  the  Charles,  Mystic,  and  Merri- 
inao. 

Kittery  Point  is  separated  from  Kittery  Foreside  by  Spruce  Creek.  It  is 
also  divided  from  Gerrish's  Island,  the  outermost  land  of  the  eastern  shore 


'  The  name  of  Kittery  Point  is  from  a  little  hamlet  in  England.  It  is  the  first  and  oldest  town 
in  the  State,  having  been  settled  in  1023.  Gorgeana,  settled  1(>24,  was  a  city  corporate,  and  not  a 
town.     Kittery  first  included  North  and  South  Berwick  and  Eliot. 


142 


Till-:  NEW   ENCiLAND  COAST. 


of  the  Piscataqna,  by  Chauncy's  Creek,      It  is  important  at  Kittory  Point 
to  get  used  to  the  names  of  Cults,  (Jerrisli,  Sparliawk,  IVpperell,  Walilron 
Cliauncy,  and  Cliumpeinowiic.     Tliey  recur  with  remarkable  frecpiency. 

Ifeoming  from  Portsmouth,  the  visitor  will  first  traverse  tlie  villaj^e,  witli 
its  quaint  little  churcli,  built  in  1714,  its  seeluded  cemetery,  and  fine  old  elms. 
They  say  the  frame  of  the  meeting-house  was  hewn  somewhere  about  Dover, 
and  floated  down  the  stream.  There  are  few  older  churches  in  New  England, 
or  that  embody  more  of  its  ancient  homeliness,  material  and  spiritual.  Since 
I  was  there  it  has  been  removed  about  sixty  feet  northward,  and  now  fronts 
the  south,  entirely  changing  the  appearance  of  that  locality. 


r 


NAVY-YARD,  KITTERY,  M.VINE. 

Formerly,  in  leaving  the  church  door,  you  were  confronted  by  a  sombre  old 
mansion,  having,  in  despite  of  some  relics  of  a  former  splendor,  an  unmistak- 
able air  of  neglect  and  decay.  The  massive  entrance  door  hung  by  a  single 
fastening,  the  fluted  pilasters  on  either  side  were  rotting  away,  window  panes 
Avere  shattered,  chimney  tops  in  ruins,  the  fences  prostrate.  It  was  nothing 
but  a  wreck  ashore.  This  was  the  house  built  by  Lady  Pepperell,  after  the 
death  of  Sir  William.  Report  said  it  was  haunted;  indeed  I  found  it  so,  and 
by  a  living  phantom. 

Kepeated  and  long-continued  knocking  was  at  length  answered  by  a  trem- 
ulous effort  from  within  to  open  the  door,  which  re([uired  the  help  of  my  com- 
panion and  myself  to  ettect.     I  shall  never  forget  the  figure  that  appeared  to 

us: 

"  We  stood  and  gazed ; 
Cn.zed  on  her  sunburned  face  with  silent  awe, 
Her  tattered  mantle  and  her  liood  of  straw." 

Poor  Sally  Cutts,  a  harmless  maniac,  was  the  sole  inhabitant  of  the  old 


AT  KITTKUY   POINT,  MAINE. 


143 


house;  she  and  it  were  fallen  into  liopelcss  rnin  together.  Her  appearance 
was  weird  and  witch-like, and  betokened  sqnalid  poverty.  An  old  calash  al- 
most concealed  her  features  from  observation,  except  when  she  raised  her 
head  and  glanced  at  us  in  a  scared,  furtive  sort  of  way.  Yet  beneath  this 
wreck,  and  what  touched  us  keenly  to  see,  was  the  instinct  of  a  lady  of  gentle 
breeding  that  seemed  the  last  and  only  link  between  her  and  the  world. 
Willi  the  air  and  manner  of  the  drawing-room  of  lifty  years  ago  she  led  the 
way  IVom  room  to  room. 

VV"e  tracked  with  our  feet  the  snow  t!iat  had  drifted  in  underneath  the  hall 
door.  The  floors  were  bare,  and  echoed  to  our  tread.  Fragments  of  the 
original  paper,  representing  ancient  ruins,  had  peeled  otV  the  walls,  and  vandal 
iiands  had  wrenched  away  the  pictured  tiles  from  the  tire-places.  The  upper 
rooms  were  but  a  repetition  of  the  disorder  and  misery  below  stairs. 

Om-  hostess,  after  conducting  us  to  her  own  apartment,  relapsed  into  im- 
becility, and  seemed  little  conscious  of  our  presence.  Some  antiquated  fur- 
niture, doubtless  family  heir-looms,  a  small  stove,  and  a  bed,  constituted  all 
her  worldly  goods.  As  she  crooned  over  a  scanty  tire  of  two  or  three  wet 
slicks,  nnillering  to  herself,  and  striving  to  warm  her  withered  hands,  I 
thought  I  belield  in  her  the  impersonation  of  Want  and  Despair. 

Iler  family  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  New  England,  but  a 
slrain  of  insanity  developed  itself  in  her  branch  of  the  genealogical  tree.  Of 
lliree  brothers — John,  Tiichard,  and  Robert  Cntt  —  who,  in  1041,  emigrated 
tVom  Wales,  the  first  became  president  of  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire, 
liie  second  settled  on  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  and  the  third  at  Kittery,  where  he 
became  noted  as  a  builder  of  ships. 

This  house  had  come  into  the  possession  of  Captain  Joseph  C'utts'  about 
llie  beginning  of  the  century.  He  was  a  large  ship-owner,  and  a  successful 
and  wealthy  merchant.  Ruined  by  Mr.  Jefferson's  embargo  and  by  the  war 
of  1812, he  lost  his  reason,  and  now  lies  in  the  village  church-yard.  Two  of 
his  sons  inherited  their  father's  blighting  misfortmie :  one  fell  by  his  own 
hand  in  Lady  Pepperell's  bed-chamber,  Sally,  the  last  survivor,  has  joined 
tlii'iii  within  a  twelvemonth. 


'('ai)taiii  Joseph  Ciitts  was  born  in  1704,  and  -lied  on  his  birthday  anniversary,  aged  ninety- 
seven.  He  niiu-ried  a  granddaughter  of  I'residunt  Chauncy,  of  Harvard  College.  Sarah  Chaun- 
c_v,  known  to  us  as  "Sally  Cutts,"  was  removed  durii;g  her  last  illness  to  the  house  of  lier  cousin, 
where  she  was  kindly  cared  for.  When  near  lier  end  slie  became  more  ratioiud,  and  was  sensible 
iif  the  attentions  of  her  friends.  She  died  June  30tb,  1874.  Her  brother  Charles  was  hojjelessly 
insane  forty-foiu'  years,  and  often  so  violent  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  chain  him.  Jose])h,  th<? 
other  Inotlier,  entered  the  navy :  overtaken  by  his  malady,  he  was  -cnt  home.  Under  tiiese  re- 
peated iDisfortunes,  added  to  the  care  of  lier  father  and  brothers,  Sally's  reason  also  gave  way. 
The  town  allowed  a  small  sum  for  the  board  of  her  father  and  brothers,  and  her  friends  provided 
wood  and  clothing.  Her  house  even  was  sold  to  satisfy  a  Government  claim  for  duties,  owed  by 
her  fiithur.     It  has  now  been  renovated,  and  is  occupied  by  Oliver  Cutts,  Esquire, 


144 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Tjor  Sally  Cutis !  She  rose  to  take  leave  of  us  wltli  the  same  ccicjiumi- 
ous  politeness  whieh  had  inarkod  her  reception.  Her  sliy;ht  and  shruiiki'ii 
Hcrure  was  long  in  my  ineniory,  her  crazy  buffet,  and  broken,  anti(|iiiitc(l 
ciiairs,  lo  whieh  siio  ilung  as  the  most  precious  of  eartlily  possessions.  It 
was  one  of  her  iialluciniiiions  to  be  always  e.xpectiui^  the  arrival  of  a  nu'sscn- 
<;er  from  Washington  with  VuU  reparation  of  the  broken  fortunes  of  her  tiirn- 
ily.  Some  charitable  .wuls  cared  for  her  necessities,  but  such  was  the  poor 
creature's  pride  that  artifice  was  necessary  to  effect  their  purpose.  Fliuiii<r 
through  the  deserted  halls  of  the  gloomy  old  mansioi. — dreading  the  stran- 
ger's apj)roac]i,  the  gossip  of  the  neighborhood,  the  jibes  of  village  urchins— 
Sally  lemained  its  mistress  until  summoned  to  a  better  and  kindlier  mansion. 
1  said  the  house  was  haunted,  and  I  believe  it. 

A  short  walk  beyond  the  cemetery  brings  you  u))  with  Fort  M'C'lary,'  its 
block-house,  loop-holed  for  musketry,  its  derriclv,'  and  general  disarray.    Not 


BLOCK-HOUSK  AND    FOKT,  KITTEKY   I'OINT. 

many  would  have  remembered  the  gallantry  of  Major  Andrew  M'Clai y  at 
Hunker  Hill,  but  for  this  monument  to  his  memory.  The  site  has  been  forti- 
fied from  an  early  day  bjf  garrison-house,  stockade,  or  earth-work.  It  sliouM 
have  retained  its  earliest  name  of  Fort  Pepperell.  John  Stark's  giant  coni- 
rade  might  have  been  elsewhere  commemorated. 

It  is  said  no  village  is  so  humble  but  that  a  great  man  may  be  boi'ii  in  it. 
Sir  William  Pepperell  was  the  great  man  of  Kittery  Point.  He  was  what  is 
now  called  a  self-made  man,  raising  himself  from  the  ranks  through  nativi' 
genius  backed  by  strength  of  will.     Smollett  calls  hira  a  Piscataquay  trader. 


'  My  appearance  within  Fort  M'Clnry  caused  a  panic  in  the  garrison.  A  few  nniniportant 
questions  concerning  the  old  works  were  answered  only  after  a  hurried  consultation  between  the 
sergeant  in  charge  and  the  head  workman.  Tiie  Government  was  then  meditating  war  witli  fsjmiii, 
and  I  had  reason  to  believe  I  was  looked  upon  us  a  8pauish  emissary. 


AT   KITTKIIY  I'OINT,  MAINK. 


145 


witli  little  or  no  O(liiofttion,nii<l  uttci-ly  mi.ioqnaiiitod  with  military  opoiations. 
TlimiL'li  ct»iit('iri)>tu()us,  the  ik'scriplion  is  literally  true. 

Sir  WilliaiirH  I'allier  is  lirst  noticed  in  the  ainials  of  the  Isles  of  Shoals. 
The  mansion  now  seen  near  the  Pepperell  Hotel  was  built  i)artly  by  hitn  and 
ill  part  by  liis  more  eminent  son.  The  buildinuj  was  once  much  more  e.xten- 
sive  than  it  now  appears,  lnivin<4  been,  about  twenty  years  ago,  shortened  ton 
fi't't  at  either  end.  Until  the  death  of  the  elder  IVpperell,  in  1734,  the  house 
WHS  occupied  by  his  own  and  his  sou's  families.  T\w.  lawn  in  front  reached 
to  the  se;i,  and  an  avenue,  a  (pnirter  of  a  mile  in  len<fth,  bordered  by  line  old 
trees,  led  to  the  house  of  Colonel  Sparliawk,  east  of  the  village  church.  With 
its  homely  exterior  tlic  mansion  of  the  Pepperells  represents  one  of  the  great- 
est fortunes  of  colonial  New  Kn<il;uid.  It  used  to  be  said  Sir  William  miiiht 
lide  to  the  Saco  without  goiug  oil'  his  own  possessions.' 


SIR  wn.LiAM  peiterell's  uouse,  kittery  point. 


Tliore  is  lianging  in  the  large  liall  of  the  Essex  Institute,  at  Salem,  a  two- 
tlinds  length  of  Sir  William  IViiperell,  jiainted  in  1751  by  Sniibert,  when  the 
liavonet  w!is  in  London.  It  represents  him  in  scarlet  coat,  waistcoat,  and 
breecl'.es,  a  smoolh-shaven  face  and  powdered  j)eriwig:  the  waistcoat,  richly 


'  The  house  was  also  occupied  at  one  time  as  a  tenement  by  fishermen.     It  exliibits  no  marks, 
eiiiiei'  inside  or  out,  of  tiie  wealth  and  social  consequence  of  its  old  proprietor. 

10 


146 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


gokl-etnbroiclcrcd,  as  was  tlu'ii  tlie  fashion,  was  worn  long,  descending  almost 
to  tlie  knee,  and  tbiined  tlie  most  conspicuous  article  of  dress.  In  one  iiatiil 
Sir  William  grasps  a  truncheon,  and  in  the  background  the  painter  has  de- 
picted the  siege  of  Louisburg,' 

Smollett  accredits  Auchinuty,  judge-advocate  of  the  Court  of  Admiraltv 
of  New  England,  with  the  plan  of  the  conquest  of  Louisburg,  which  he  pro- 
nounces the  most  important  achievement  of  the  war.  Mr.  Ilartwell  said  in 
the  House  of  Commons  that  the  colonists  took  Louisburg  from  the  Fri'iich 
single-handed,  williout  any  European  assistance — "as  mettled  an  enterprise 

as  any  in  our  history,"  he  calls  it.  Tlie 
honor  of  the  Louisburg  expedition  has 
also  been  claimed  for  James  (iibsuii,  uf 
Boston,  and  Colonel  William  Vaui:liaii, 
of  Damariscotta.  But  the  central  tiifiius 
apj)ear  to  have  been  Governor  William 
Shirley  and  Sir  William  Pepperell.'^ 

The  year  of  Louisburg  was  an  event- 
ful one,  for  all  Europe  was  in  arms.  Tlu' 
petty  German  ]irinces  were  striviiiij  tor 
tlie  imperial  crown  vacant  by  the  death 
of  the  empei'or,  Charles  VIL  I'ranic 
supijorts  the  pr'^tensioiis  of  the  (b'aml 
Duke  of  Tuscany  with  a  powerful  army 
under  her  illustrious  profligate,  ^laurice 
de  Saxe;  Austria  invades  Bohemia;  the 
old  Jb'ummbar  swoops  down  upon  Sax- 
ony, and  his  oamion  growl  under  the 
walls  of  Dresden  ;  the  IJhenish  frontiers,  Silesia,  Hungary,  and  Italy,  are  all 
ablaze. 

England  must  have  a  hand  in  the  fighting.  Lord  Chesterfield's  mission 
to  the  Hague,  th'i  Quadruple  Alliance  at  Warsaw,  are  succeeded  by  the 
stuiming  blow  of  Fontenoy.  The  allied  army  recoiled,  and  drew  itself  to- 
gether under  the  walls  of  Brussels.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland  was  del'eateu 
by  a  sick  man.' 

It  was  at  this  moment  of  defeat  that  the  news  of  the  fall  of  LoiiisliuiL' 
reached  the  allies.     The  Duid^irk  of  America  liad  capitulated  to  a  "tiaderol 


silt  WILLIAM  i'i;i'ri;i{i;i,i,. 


♦i  I 


'  Mr.  Longfellow  lins,  at  Cambridge,  n  painting  by  Copley,  representing  two  cbildien  in  :i  piiil^ 
These  children  are  William  Pejipeieli  and  his  sister,  Elizabeth  lioyall  Pepperell,  cliildieii  ef  iln' 
last  Imroiiet. 

"  Hotli  were  made  colonels  in  the  regular  British  establishment;  their  regiments,  numbyrtil  'lis 
Fiftieth  and  Eifty-fiist  respectively,  were  afterward  disbanded. 

*  Marshal  8axe,  unable  to  mount  his  horse,  was  carried  along  his  lines  in  a  litter. 


AT  KITTERY  I'OINT,  MAINE. 


147 


Piscataquay."    It  put  new  life  into  the  beaten  army,  and  was  celebrated  with 
(MTiit  rejoicings  in  its  cumps.' 

AuKtng  those  who  served  willi  distinction  under  Pepperell  were  Kichard 
Gridli  y,  who  afterward  placed  tlie  redoubt  on  Bunl<er  Hill;  Wooster,  who 
tell  at  Kidgeficld;  Thornton,  a  signer  of  our  Magna  Charta ;  and  Nixon  and 
Whiting,  of  the  Continental  army.  It  was  sought  to  give  the  expedition 
sometliing  of  the  character  of  a  crusade.  George  Wliitetield  furnished  for  its 
biiniior  the  motto, 

"iV7/  Deeper andum^  Christo  Duce^'' 


to 


A  little  more  family  history  is  necessary  to  give  the  reader  the  entree  of 
the  four  old  houses  at  Kittery  Point. 

The  elder  Sir  William,  by  his  will,  made  the  son  of  his  daugliter  Elizabeth 

I  Colonel  Sparhawk  his  residuary  legatee,  requiring  him,  at  the  same  time, 

roliiKiuish  the  name  of  Sj)arhawk  for  that  of  Pepi)erell.  The  baronetcy, 
extinct  with  the  death  of  Sir  Williani,  was  revived  by  the  king  for  the  benefit 
of  his  gijiudson,  a  royalist  of  1775,  who  went  to  England  at  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities.     The  large  family  estates  were  confiscated  by  the  patriots. 

The  tomb  of  the  Pepperells,  built  in  1734,  is  seen  between  the  road  and 
tho  Pepperell  Hotel.'  When  it  was  repaired  some  years  ago,  at  the  instance 
of  Harriet  Hirst  Sparhawl',  the  remains  were  found  lying  in  a  promiscuous 
heap  at  the  bottom,  the  wooden  shelves  nt  the  sides  having  given  way,  pre- 
cipitating the  coffins  upon  the  floor  of  the  vaidt.  The  planks  first  used  to 
dose  the  entrance  had  yielded  to  the  pressure  of  the  feet  of  cattle  grazing  in 
the  common  field,  tilling  the  tomb  with  rubbish.  About  thirty  skidls  were 
foiuiil  ill  various  stages  of  decomposition.  A  crypt  was  built  iu  a  corner,  and 
tlie  scattered  relics  carefully  placed  within.' 

Dr.  Kliot,  the  pioneer  among  American  biographers,  says  Dr.  Belknap  oft- 
en iiH'iitioned  to  him  that  his  desire  to  preserve  the  letters  of  Sir  William 
Pepperell  led  to  the  founding  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  This 
(/bjecl  does  not  seem  to  have  been  wholly  accomplished,  as  it  is  well  known 
the  baronet's  papers  have  become  widely  scattered,^ 

Not  far  from  the  mansion  of  thj  I'epperells  is  the  very  ancient  dwelling 
of  Bray,  whose  daughter,  Margery,  became  Lady  Pepperell.     It  was  long  be- 


'  Tlie  jear  174.5  was  also  signalized  by  the  death  of  Pope  in  Jane,  and  of  the  old  Ducliess  of 
MiiiiliDroiigii  in  October,  who  died  at  eighty-five,  immensely  licli,  and  "very  little  regretted  oitiier 
in  lu'v  own  family  or  tlie  world  in  general." — Smom-ett. 

'  Mr.  K.  F.  Satlord,  the  proprietor,  exercises  wateli  and  ward  over  this  and  other  relics  of  the 
I'epiiercils  with  a  ciiic  wortliy  of  iinitatioii  iiil  along  the  coast. 

'  Mr.  Sabine  notes  in  his  "Loyalists"  that  the  tomb,  when  entered  some  years  ago,  contained 
linlii  cl-i'  thiiii  bone!  strewed  in  confusion  abont  its  muddy  bottom  ;  among  them,  of  course,  thu 
reinains  ot'  tlie  victor  of  Jjouisbiirg,  deposited  in  it  at  his  decease  in  \''i\). 

'  Tlie  best  biograi)hy  of  Sir  William  I'epperell  is  that  by  Dr.  Usher  Tarsoiis. 


148 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


fore  the  old  shipwris^lit  nuvdo  up  his  mind  to  consent  to  matcli  his  dauL:;Iitci' 
80  unequally.  Tliis  liouso  is  considered  to  be  two  hundred  and  tweuly-iivn 
years  old,  aiul  is  still  habitable.  Down  at  the  water-sitle  are  seen  the  roitinjf 
timbers  of  the  wharf  where  the  Pcpperells,  father  and  son,  conducted  an  ox- 
tensive  trade. 

A  little  east  of  the  hotel  and  the  j)leasant  manse  below  the  river  mnkesa 
noble  sweep,  inclosing  a  favorite  anchorage  for  storm  or  wind  bound  ciatt. 


i     ,ritd*i- 


^^^^^ 


KJTTEUY   POINT,  MAINE. 

Not  unfrequently  a  hundred  may  be  seen  quietly  riding  out  a  north-oasti'vat 
snug  moorings.  At  sucli  times  this  harbor  and  Gloucester  are  liaveiis  (if  nl- 
uge  for  all  coasters  caught  along  shore.  The  sight  of  the  Heet  getting  iuhhi 
way  with  the  return  of  tine  \seather  is  worth  going  to  see. 

When  at  Kittery  Point  tlie  visitor  may  indulge  in  a  variety  of  agrceaWi' 
excursions  by  land  or  water;  the  means  are  always  at  hand  for  boating  a""' 
driving,  and  there  is  no  lack  of  pleasant  rambles.     I  Hrst  went  to  (ionisli* 


Inland 

In 
of  the 
Arthwi 
niiMic  c 
lire  ]]]': 
limes  c 
TIk 
to  gnd 
civiliza 
protect 
liii^li  rv 
I  think 
sea,  iMis 
Tlie 
son  of  J 
there,  III 
ill  ills  l;i 
of'  siibsc 
risli's  I<<| 
not  quite 
oil  the  s 
eouiit. 
All 
Many  of 
jeet.'s  far 
^'iillivan, 
ing  ships 
of  the  I 
live  tliou 
JJaeJgJ 

'  Tlie  iH-l 
i'l  l.Vt-,  Ims 
ilie  earl's  fit 
"lid  appears 

'  The  fai 
"IIS  liniii  till 

'  1I«  is  f, 
Tiittle  give- 
will. 

*  They  n 
and  Oeiiisl,' 


AT  KITTERY   POINT,  MAINE. 


149 


Ishiiul  on  !i  wild  Xovcinbcr  day,  and  in  a  north-east  snow-storm.  I  never  en- 
joyed myself  better. 

Ill  (lie  first  jilace,  this  island  is  one  of  the  headlands  of  history  as  well  as 
of  tli<'  J'iscataqua.  It  was  conveyed  as  early  as  1636,  by  Sir  F.  Gorges,  to 
Aitliui'  Cluunperiiowne,  a  gentleman  of  Devon.'  The  island  was  to  take  the 
iiiunc  (if  Darlington,  from  the  manor  of  the  Champernownes.''  In  this  indent- 
ure Ih'iive  Boat  Harbor  is  mentioned.  The  Province  of  Maine  was  then  some- 
limes  called  New  S(.)niersetshire. 

Tlioro  is  something  in  this  endeavor  of  all  the  promoters  of  New  England 
to  !j[r;ifl  upon  her  soil  the  time-honored  names  of  the  Old,  to  plant  with  her 
ti\ili7,ation  something  to  keep  her  in  loving  remembrance,  that  appeals  to  our 
IHoti'tlioii,  These  names  are  historical  and  significant.  They  link  us  to  the 
lii<j;li  renown  of  our  mother  isle.  No  polit'c.il  separation  can  disiidierit  us. 
I  think  the  tie  is  like  the  mystery  of  the  eleci'  c  wave  that  passes  under  the 
sea,  unseen  yet  acknowledged  of  all,  active  though  invisible. 

The  island,  with  many  contiguous  acres,  became  the  property  of  Francis, 
son  of  Arthur  Champernowne,  and  nephew  of  Sir  F.  Gorges,  who  is  buried 
there,  his  grave  distinguished  by  a  heap  of  stones.  Tradition  said  he  fbrV)ade 
in  his  last  testament  any  stone  to  be  raised  to  his  memory."  In  the  hands 
(if  snl)se(pient  proprietors  the  island  was  called  Ciitts's,  Fryer's,  and  Ger- 
rish"s  Island.  It  is  usually  spoken  of  as  two  islands,  being  nearly^  though 
not  quite  subdivided  by  Channcy's  Creek.  The  venerable  Cutts's  farm-house 
(in  the  shore  of  the  island  is  t  o  hundred  and  thirty  years  ol  1  by  family  ac- 
count. 

All  the  islands  lying  northward  of  the  sliip  channel  belong  to  Kittery.* 
Many  of  them  have  interesting  associations.  Trefethren's,  the  largest,  pro- 
jects far  out  into  the  river,  and  is  garnished  with  the  earth-works  of  old  Fort 
Sullivan,  from  which  shot  might  be  pitched  with  ease  on  the  decks  of  invad- 
ing ships.  Fernald's,  now  Navy^  Yard  Island,  became  in  1806  the  property 
of  the  United  States,  by  purchase  of  Captain  William  Dennett,  for  the  sum  of 
live  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

ISadger's,  anciently  Langdon's  Island,  is  a  reminiscence  of  one  of  the  no- 


|i-easterat 
lens  (if  I't-'t'- 
[ill. J  nivH'i' 

gating  a"^^ 
tiorri»li'!i 


'  Tlie  rdalinn  in  I'lnchiis,  vol.  iv.,  p.  V.)i\'>,  of  tlie  voynKC  of  Holjcrt.  earl  of  Essex,  to  the  Azores 
in  l.Mir,  lias  a  siiiiiilenieiitaiy  or  larger  relation,  written  by  !Sir  Arthur  Gorges,  kniglit,  a  eaiitain  in 
tlie  earl's  fleet  of  the  ship  Wast-S/iite.  Tiiere  is  mention  of  a  Captain  Arthur  Champernowne, 
wlu)  aiipears  to  have  sailed  with  the  admiral  in  this  expedition. 

"  Tliu  father  of  James  Anthony  Froude,  the  historian,  was  rector  of  DartiiiRton  ;  ihe  historian 
was  Ikii'ii  there. 

He  is  fully  recognized  ns  a  personage  of  distinction  in  the  beginnings  of  Kittery.  Charles  W. 
I'little  t;ives  him  a  touch  of  royal  blood.  I  failed  to  (ind  such  a  jjrovision  in  his  own  draft  of  his 
will. 

*  Tli(  V  are,  in  descending  the  river,  Badger's,  Navy  Yard,  Trefethren's,  or  Seavey's,  Clark's, 
and  GeiTish's  Island. 


ido 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


blest  of  the  o!.l  Ko- 
mans  of  tlie  rwoln- 
tioiiary  tiiiK'.  lIi^ 
still  elegant  niniision 
adorns  one  of  the 
liandsoniest  streets  ill 
Portsmontli.'  V.'iisli- 
iiigton,  Avlieii  tliciv, 
considered  it  the  iin- 
est  private  house  in 
the  town. 

Langdon  was  six 
feet  tall,  with  a  vcrv 
_  noble  presence.  Duke 
liochefonoanld  biaii- 
court  mentions  that 
he  liad  followed  tlir 
sea  iirst  as  mate, 
then  as  master  of  a 
ship.     He  ulliiiiatclv 

GOVEKNOU  LANODON's  MANSION,  POUTS.MOt'TIJ.  , 

became  an  eininoiit 
merchant  and  ship-builder.  A  devoted  patriot,  lie  was  one  of  the  leaders  in 
the  first  act  of  aggression  committed  by  the  Portsmouth  Wliigs  against  the 
crown.  As  the  words  of  a  man  of  action  and  a  model  legislator  in  time  of 
invasion  by  a  foreign  enemy,  his  welbknown  speech  to  the  New  IIam])shii(' 
Assembly  is  worth  the  quoting.  This  is  his  manner  of  cutting  short  nseless  de- 
bate :  "  (Jentlemen,  you  may  talk  as  much  as  you  please;  but  I  know  the  en- 
emy is  upon  our  frontiers,  and  I  am  going  to  take  my  pistols  and  mount  my 
horse,  and  go  and  fight  in  the  ranks  of  my  fellow-citizens."     And  he  did  it. 

Yet  a  little  more  abont  Langdon.  Chastellux  relates  that  when  on  lii^ 
way  to  Gates's  camp  he  was  followed  by  a  favorite  slave.  The  negro,  who 
beheld  the  energy  with  which  his  master  j^ressed  on,  without  other  repose 
than  co\dd  bo  snatched  in  the  woods,  said  to  him,  at  last, "  ^Master,  yon  un- 
dergo great  hardships,  but  you  go  to  fight  for  liberty.  I  also  should  sutler 
patiently  if  I  liad  the  same  liberty  to  defend."  "Then  you  shall  have  it." 
said  John  Langdon;  "from  this  moment  I  give  yon  your  freedom." 

Continental  i»gent  Langdoi\,becan)e  the  superintendent  of  war  shi|is  or- 
dered liere  by  Congress.  lie  presided  at  the  building  of  the  Hanffcr,  the  Al- 
liance, an^  the  yimeriea,  the  last  a  seventy-four  gun  ship,  generously  given 
to  Louis  XVL  for  one  of  his  lost  on  our  coast.  Paul  Jones  was  mr.cli  here; 
a  brave  braggart,  quarreling  with  Langdon  and  Congress,  writing  qitiies  of 


'  In  Plensnnt,  netir  Court  Street. 


AT   KITTERY  POINT,  MAINK. 


151 


inoniorials,  little  esteemed  among  his  peers,  though  a  lion  on  his  own  quarter- 

Tlioiigh  Langtlon  was  a  member  elect  of  the  Old  Congress,  as  his  State 
stipulated  that  only  two  of  the  delegates  were  to  go  to  I'hihidelphia,  his  does 
not  nppear  among  the  names  signed  to  the  Declaration.  Matthew  Thornton, 
iKctcd  after  Langdon,  was  allowed  to  sign  when  he  took  his  seat  in  Novem- 
bir.  Langdon  became  an  oj)p()nent  of  the  measnros  and  administration  of 
Wasliiiigton,  joining  with  Jetferson,  Pierce  IJiitlcr,  and  a  i'ew  others  in  or- 
iianiziiig  the  llepublican  party  of  that  day.  They  had  five  votes  in  the  Sen- 
{itc.  In  the  House  was  Andrew  Jackson,  a  member  from  Tennessee,  who  at- 
tracted little  attention,  though  he  voted  with  the  small  coterie  of  the  Upper 
House,  including  Langdon,  Butler,  and  Colonel  Burr. 

.Jacob  Sheatti",  who  in  his  day  carried  on  a  more  extensive  business  than 
any  other  merchant  in  Portsmouth,  became  the  successor  of  Langdon  as  Gov- 
ernniont  agent.  It  is  said  he  i)ur(Oiased  the  island  where  the  Navy  Yard  now 
is.  One  of  the  six  frigates  ordered  under  Washington's  administration  was 
hogiiu  here,  AVe  had  voted  to  build  these  vessels  to  punish  the  Algerine 
corsairs ;  we  then  countermanded  them  ;  afterward  a  treaty  was  made  with 
those  })irates  by  which  they  were  to  have  a  new  frigate  of  thirty-two  guns, 
which  was  laid  down  at  Portsmouth. 

Tlic  family  name  of  Sheafte  was  once  much  more  familiar  in  Xew  England 
than  now.  It  was  of  Peggy  Sheaffe,  a  celebrated  Boston  beauty,  that  Baron 
Stcul)en  perpetrated  the  following  mot:  When  introduced  to  her  at  the  house 
of  Mrs.  Livingstone,  mother  of  the  chancellor,  the  baron  exclaimed,  in  liis 
broken  English,  "I  have  been  cautioned  from  my  youth  against  Jlischief^  hui 
had  no  idea  her  charms  were  so  irresistible." 

Kittery  is  mentioned  by  Josselyn  as  the  most  populous  of  all  the  jilanta- 
tions  in  the  Province  of  Maine.  It  engrosses  the  left  bank  of  the  Piscataqua 
iVoni  the  great  bridge  at  Portsmouth  to  the  sea.  The  booming  of  guns  at  the 
Navy  Yard  often  announces  the  presence  of  some  dignitary,  yet  none,  I  fancy, 
more  distinguished  than  Washington  have  set  foot  in  Kittery.  I  regret  he 
has  not  much  to  say  of  it,  but  more  of  the  tishing-party  of  which  he  was,  at 
the  moment,  a  member. 

"Having  lines,"  he  says,  "  wc  proceeded  to  the  fishing  banks  without 
the  harbor,  and  fished  for  cod,  but  it  not  being  a  proper  time  of  tide,  we 
caught  but  two."  The  impregnable  character  of  the  President  for  truthful- 
ness forbids  the  presumption  that  want  of  skill  liad  aught  to  do  with  his  ill- 
luck. 

It  would  be  matter  for  general  regret  if  the  selectmen  of  Kittery  should 
aii;ain,  as  long  ago  happened,  be  presented  by  a  grand  jury  for  not  taking 
care  that  their  children  were  taught  their  catechism,  and  educated  according 
to  law.  The  number  of  steeples  and  school-houses  seen  by  the  way  indicates, 
lu  this  respect,  a  healthy  public  opinion.    Kittery  church-yard  contains  many 


lol>  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 

imile  appeals  to  linger  and  glean  its  dead  secrets.      Mrs.  Thaxter  sweetly 
sings  as  she  I'elt  the  story  of  one  of  these  mildewed  stones: 

"  Cnisliing  the  scarlet  strawberries  in  the  grass, 
I  kneel  to  read  ilie  slanting  stone.     Alas! 
IIow  sharp  a  sorrow  speaks!     A  hunilred  veiirs 
And  more  have  vanished,  with  their  smiles  and  tears, 
Since  here  was  laid,  npon  an  Ajiril  day. 
Sweet  Mary  (.'hainiccy  in  the  grave  away, 
A  hundred  years  since  here  her  lover  stood 
Beside  her  grave."    ♦    *    ♦ 

I  found  both  banks  of  the  Piscataqna  charniing.  The  hotels  at  Newcastle, 
Kittery,  Old  York,  etc.,  arc  of  the  smaller  chiss,  adapted  to  the  comluitabk' 
entertainment  of  families ;  and  as  they  are  removed  from  the  intrusion  of 
that  disagreeable  constituent  of  city  life  known  over-seas  as  the  "swell  mob," 
real  comfort  is  attainable.  They  are  not  faultless,  but  one  may  always  i-oii- 
fidently  reckon  on  a  good  bed,  a  polite,  accommodating  host,  and  well-ino- 
vided  table. 


*¥%. 


WUALE  S-BACK   LUillT. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE    ISLES   OF   SHOAI.S. 

"  O  Wiiniing  liglits,  burn  bright  and  clenr, 
Hither  tiie  storm  conies  I     Lciigncs  away 
It  moans  and  thiniders  low  and  drear — 
Burn  'til  the  break  of  day!" 

CiCLIA    TlIAXTICn. 

/^\  the  loth  of  July,  1605,  as  the  sun  was  declining  in  the  west,  a  little 
^^  bai'k  of  Hftceii  Ions,  manned  by  Ffenchnien,  was  stamling  along  the 
coast  of  New  England,  in  quest  of  a  situation  to  begin  a  settlement.  Tiie 
piiiuipal  personage  on  board  was  Pien-e  du  Guast,  Sieiir  de  Monts,  a  noble 
g*-'iitl('nian,  and  an  officer  of  the  household  of  Henry  IV.  Ilis  commission  of 
lieutenant-general  bore  dale  at  Fontainebleau  in  the  year  1G03.     He  was  em- 


154 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


BoolS?*Ste 


N^^?^°^^ 


-Appledort*']'.' 
Loui^onefrilA 


POUTSMOLTII   AN))  THE    ISLES  OF  SHOALS. 


poworeilby  it  to  col- 
onize   Ac.'ulia  iroiii 
tlic  fortieth  to  tiic 
forty-si.xth  ))nr:iIU'l, 
in  virtue  of  t  lie  dis- 
coveries of  ilie  Tus- 
can, Verazziiiii.     It 
roeitod,    in     <iiiaiiit 
old  Frencli,  tli;it  Dii 
Gnast   liad  already 
made    several    vcy- 
ajics   to   tliese  iiinl 
other     neiiihboriiio; 
countries,  of  whicli 
he   had    knowlcdjic 
andexperienee.'  The 
commission  likcwisu 
conferred  authority 
to  make  war  or  peace  with  the  peoples  inhabit iiij;  tlic 
country  of  Acadia,  with  sole  ])ower  to  tiattic  in  skins  and 
furs  for  ten  years  in  the  JJay  of  St.  Clair  and  the  rivci' 
of  Canada.     The  broad  autoijraph  of  Henry  and  the  jfrcat 
seal  of  yellow  wax  are  appended  to  the  parchment. 

On  board  the  bark,  besides  the  leader  of  the  expinli- 
tion,  were  a  few  gentlemen  adventurers  and  twenty  sail- 
ors. The  name  of  De  jNFonts's  j)ilot  was  Chamjxlori'.' 
The  geographer  of  the  expedition  was  Samuel  Champlaiii. 
Accompanying  De  Monts,  as  guides  and  interpreters,  were 
two  natives,  Panonnias  and  his  wife. 

Since  the  loth  of  June  De  JNlonts  liad  been  minutely  examining  the  Xcw 
England  coast  from  St.  Croix,  where  he  had  wintered,  to  near  the  forty-third 
l)araliel,  in  the  hope  of  finding  "a  place  more  suitable  for  habitatictn  ami  ofii 
milder  temperature"  than  the  inhos)»itable  region  he  liad  first  pitched  upon, 
The  greater  part  of  De  Monts's  colony  remained  at  the  Isle  of  St.  Croix. 
After  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  Saco,  and  looking  in  at  the  entrance  of 


'  "  Et  en  liv  connoissance  et  experience  que  voiis  tivez  de  la  qimlitc,  condition  et  sitnation  iliidit 
pais  de  la  Cadie,  pour  les  diverges  navigations,  voyages,  et  tVeqnentations  qne  vous  avez  faits  en  ces 


terres  et  anti-es  prociies  et  circonvoisines." 

'  VVilliainson  erroneously  calls  Cliamplain  the  i)ilot. 


TIIK  ISLKS  OF  SHOALS. 


165 


KiMiiK'bunk  River,  Do  Monts,  still  koo|)iii<]j  as  closn  in  as  was  pnulont  with  the 
1:111(1,  \»hich  Chatii]»laiii  (Icscrihos  as  tlat  and  saiuly  [platte  et  sabloneKHi')^ 
foiind  himself  on  that  July  at'tenioon  in  j)resencc  of  three  striking  land- 
marks.' Cape  Ann  bore  south,  a  quarter  east,  six  loagues  distant.  To  the 
west,  was  a  deep  bay  into  which,  the  savages  afterward  told  him,  a  river 
emptied;  and  in  the  offing  they  perceived  three  or  four  islands  of  fair  ele- 
viitii)ii.     These  last,  historians  agree,  were  the  Isles  of  Shoals. 

Notwithstanding  the  isles  are  not  identified  on  either  of  Champlain's  maps 
(1(J1'J  and  1G32),  it  is  no  longer  doul)tfiil  that  J)e  flouts  made  them  out  nine 
years  before  Smith  saw  them,  though  the  latter  has  lirst  given  them  on  a 
iiiai)  a  locality  and  a  name.  Jiut  I  take  Pring  to  have  been  the  first  to  men- 
lidii  them,  when,  two  years  before  Ue  Monts,  he  sighted  a  multitude  of  small 
islamls  in  about  forty-three  degrees,  and  anchored  under  the  shelter  of  the 
(greatest."  Gosnold  nnist  have  seen  the  isles,  but  thought  them  hardly  worth 
entering  in  his  log.  Prince  Charles,  afterward  Charles  I.,  graciously  contirmed 
the  name  Smith  iiad,  in  1614,  given  the  isles.  Yet  he  has  little  or  no  title  to 
1)0  considered  their  discoverer,  and  has  left  no  evidence  that  he  ever  landed 
\i|)on  them.  The  French,  Smith  relates,  had  two  ships  forty  leagues  to  the 
westward  (of  ]Moidiegan)  that  had  made  great  trade  while  he  was  on  the 
coast.  Ueyond  all  these,  the  IJascjue  shallop  seen  in  these  waters  by  Gosnold 
remains  a  nut  for  historians  to  crack. 

l)e  Poutrincourt's  expedition  of  IGOG  into  IMassachusetts  Bay  was  the 
seqnei  to  that  of  1(505.  De  JNIonts,  a  heretic,  through  the  jealousy  of  rivals 
and  Jesuit  intrigue,  was  soon  deprived  of  the  privileges  with  which  he  had 
been  endowed  by  his  fickle  monarch.  In  this  his  experience  was  not  unlike 
that  of  Gorges  and  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  De  Monts  was  really  the 
head  of  a  commercial  company,  organized  by  Chauvin,  governor  of  Dieppe.^ 
The  detail  of  his  voyage  along  the  New  England  coast  in  1G05  is  the  first 
intelligible  record  to  be  found.  Shall  we  not,  at  last,  have  to  do  the  tardy 
Jnstice  of  acknowledging  him  the  chief  and  gniding  spirit  of  the  expedi- 
tion, now  universally  referred  to  as  Champlain's?  The  latter  lias  bccom-.; 
the  iironiinont  figure,  while  Du  Guast  is  not  even  mentioned  in  some  of  our 
so-ealled  school  histories. 

Christopher  Levett  is  the  first  Englishman  to  give  an  account  of  the  isles 
worthy  of  the  name.  Its  brevity  may  be  advantageously  contrasted  with 
later  descriptions,  though  the  natural  features  remain,  in  many  respects,  the 
same.    He  says,  writing  seven  years  after  Captain  Smith  : 


'  A  little  book  I  have  seen  translates  rather  freely  in  making  Chainplnin  say  "and  on  the  west 
Ipswiteh  Bay."     See  j).  122  for  Champlain's  exact  language. 

"'  I'ring  came  to  the  main-land  in  forty-three  and  a  half  degrees — his  farthest  point  westward  on 
this  voyage — and  worked  along  tlie  coast  to  the  south-west.  1  know  of  no  other  islands  between 
Cape  Ann  and  his  land-fall  answering  his  description. 

"  De  Monts  sailed  from  Havre  de  Grace  March  7th,  IGOt. 


150 


TlUC  NKVV  KNCJLAND  COAST. 


"The  first  ])\aci'.  I  set  my  foot  upon  in  New  Enj^land  was  the  Isle  nf 
Shoals,  beiiii^-  islamls  in  the  sea  about  two  leagues  iVoin  the  maui. 

"Upon  tliese  islands  I  neither  cdiiUl  see  one  good  timber- tree  nor  sd 
much  good  ground  as  to  make  a  garden. 

"The  plaee  is  found  to  be  a  good  lishing-placo  for  six  ships,  but  more  cnii 
not  well  be  there,  for  want  of  convenient  stage  room,  as  this  year's  experience 
hath  i)roved." 

The  year  102.'}  is  the  earliest  date  I  have  seen  of  the  islands  being  occu- 
pied as  a  fishing  station.  Monhegan  was  earlier  known,  and  more  frecpientcd 
by  English  vessels  for  this  purpose.  A  word  or  two  about  the  fishery  of 
tliose  days. 

Cabot  notices  the  cod  under  the  nauK'  of  "bacalc;"  Jean  Alfonse  s])e;il<s 
of  tlie  "  bacaillns ;"  Cajjlain  Uring  calls  it  "baccalew;"  the  Indian  name  was 
"tamwock."  Hmith  says  the  fish  on  our  coast  were  much  better  than  tlmse 
taken  at  Newfoundland,  which  he  styles  "  poor  John,"  a  nickname  ever  since 
current  up  the  Mediterranean.  One  of  his  ships,  in  1014,  loaded  with  dry 
fish  for  Spain,  where  the  cargo  brought  "forty  ryalls,"  or  five  dollars,  the 
quintal.  Fii'teen  or  eighteen  men,  by  his  relation,  took  with  the  hook  alone 
sixty  thousand  fish  in  a  month. 

Charlevoix  believed  this  fish  could  turn  itself  inside  out,  like  a  pocket. 
lie  says  they  found  bits  of  iron  and  glass,  a. id  even  pieces  of  broken  pots,  in 
the  stomachs  of  fish  caught  on  the  Baidcs  of  Newfoundland ;  and  adds  tliiu 
some  people  believed  they  could  digest  them.  Josselyn  says  the  fishermen 
used  to  tan  their  sails  aiul  nets  with  hemlock-bark  to  preserve  them. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  innnber  of  fishermen  fiequenting  theCirand 
Banks  in  1578.  "\ Without  the  evidence  i'ew  would  be  willing  to  believe  tlic 
fishery  had  attained  such  ])roportions  at  that  early  day,  on  a  coast  we  have 
been  accustomed  to  regard  as  almost  unknown.  It  certainly  goes  very  tar 
toward  dispelling  illusions  respecting  the  knowledge  that  was  had  of  oni' 
own  shores  by  those  adventurous  "toilers  of  the  sea." 

In  Captain  Richard  Whitbourne's  I'elation  of  his  voyages  and  observations 
in  Newfoundland  (Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1882), he  says: 

"More  than  four  hundred  sail  of  fishing  shijis  were  annually  sent  to  the 
Grand  Banks  by  the  French  and  Portuguese,  making  two  voyages  a  year, 
fishing  winter  and  summer. 

"In  the  year  1G15,  when  I  was  at  Newfoundland,"  he  adds,  "  there  were 
then  on  that  coast  of  your  Majestie's  subjects  two  hundred  and  fiftie  saile  of 
r.liips,  great  and  small.  The  burthens  and  tonnage  of  them  all,  one  with  an- 
other, so  neere  as  I  could  take  notice,  allowing  every  ship  to  be  at  least  three- 
score tun  (for  as  some  of  them  contained  lesse,  so  many  of  them  lield  more), 
amounting  to  more  than  15,000  tunnes.  Now,  fin-  every  three-score  tun  bin- 
then,  according  tb  the  usual  manning  of  ships  in  those  voyages,  agreeing  willi 
the  note  I  then  tooke,  there  are  to  be  set  doune  twentie  men  and  boyes;  by 


TIIK  ISLES  OF  SHOALS. 


157 


wliicli  conijMitation  in  tliosi>  two  liuiKlrcd  iiiid  Htlio  sailo  tlioi'L'  were  no  lesse 
lliiiii  five  tliousiiM<l  persons." 

Do  Poiitrincourt,  writintr  to  l*;irls  in  KilS  from  Port  lloyal,  estimates  the 
li-licry  to  be  llien  worlli  a  '•''  in'illlon  (Pot'''^  annnally  to  France.  He  (le(;lares 
lie  would  not  exel;!iii;j;(;  C'unada  (or  IV/ii  if  it  were  once  serionsly  settled ;  and 
foicsliadows  tli(!  dei-iirus  of  the  Knglisli  on  Xew  France  as  soon  as  tliey  slionld 
JKivc  made  themsel'.es  strong  in  Virginia.  Jjy  a  royal  edict  of  IGOO  the 
j'VciK'li  fishermen  o:'New  France  were  allowed  to  land  their  fish  in  all  the 
purls  of  the  mother  counti'y,  except  Havre,  free  of  duty. 

The  advantages  jiossessed  by  the  Isles  of  Shoals  were  deep  water,  with  a 
roasonably  secure  haven  for  ships,  free  from  molestation  by  thi'  savages,  while 
the  crews  were  engaged  in  taking  and  curing  their  fish.  To  this  ought  to  be 
aihU'd  their  nearness  to  the  best  tishing  grounds.  All  along  sliore  the  isl;inds 
were,  as  a  rule,  earlier  frequented  than  the  main-land.  J^evett  says  (and  he 
tliought  it  a  fatal  objection)  the  ships  (hat  lished  at  Cape  Aim  in  1023  liad 
to  scud  their  boats  tircnfi/  ihIIi'k  to  take  their  fish,  and  th((  masters  were  in 
tii'cat  feir  '>f  not  making  their  voyages.  "  I  fear  there  hath  been  too  fair  a 
gloss  sot  upon  Capo  Aim,"  writes  Levett. 

La  llontan,  writing  from  (Quebec  in  10S3,  says  of  the  cod-fishery  on  the 
Banks  of  Newfoundland  :  "You  can  scarce  imagine  what  quantities  of  cod- 
tisli  were  cateh'd  there  by  our  seamen  in  the  space  of  a  (piarter  of  an  hour; 


for  til 


had  thirtv-two  fatli 


itei 


't  the  liook  was  n 


sooner  at 
llie  iiottom  than  tlie  tisli  was  catcli'd;  so  that  tliey  hail  nothing  to  do  but  to 
throw  ill  and  take  np  without  interruption.  ]»ut,  after  all,  such  is  the  niis- 
t'ortune  of  this  fishery  that  it  does  not  succeed  but  upon  certain  banks,  which 
.ire  commonly  past  over  without  stopping.  However,  as  we  were  plentilnl- 
ly  ciitoitain'd  at  the  cost  of  these  fishes,  so  such  of  'em  as  continued  in  the 
sea  made  sufficient  reprisals  on  the  corpse  of  a  captain  and  of  several  sol- 
diers who  died  of  the  scurvy,  and  were  thrown  overboard  three  or  four  days 
Mil  or." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Trldl,  the  first  vessel  built  in  Boston,  took  a 
lading  offish  to  IVilboa.  in  1G4;J,  that  were  sold  to  good  profit.  From  thence 
she  took  freight  for  ^Malaga,  and  brought  home  wine,  oil,  fruit,  iron,  etc.  She 
was  then  sent  to  trade  with  La  Tour  and  Acadia,  The  Trinl  was  of  about  a 
liiimlrod  and  sixty  tons  burden.'  In  the  year  1700  there  were  two  hundred 
Xew  England  vessels  loaded  in  Acadia  with  fish.  The  cargoes  were  taken 
to  Hostoii,  and  there  distributed  to  different  parts  of  the  world. 

After  the  isles  became  permanently  inhabited  the  fishery  continued  pros- 
iHMous,  and  by  1730  three  or  four  vessels  were  annually  loaded  for  liilboa. 
iJefore  the  Revolution  seven  or  eight  schooners  liailed  from  the  islands,  but 
bom  this  period  the  fishery  dates  its  decay.     Li  1800  oidy  shore-fishing  was 


'  Winthr(.p's  "Journal." 


158 


THE  NEW  ENOLANI)  lOASI'. 


jmrsiiod,  which  cmphiyed  tliirli'oii  whiile-boiita  siiiiiiar  to  those  now  in  nsi' 
iiiid  tho  best  of  all  boats  in  a  si-a. 

Ik'siiU's  tliu  tisli  itself,  the  liver  of  the  cod,  as  is  woU  known,  is  saved  fur 
the  oil  it  eoiitains.  Hake  smnids  are  of  "greater  value  than  the  fisli,  hcini,^ 
extensively  nsed  in  the  niaiml'actnre  of  isiny;lass.  'i'lie  etlii-aey  of  the  cnir.s 
liver  was  early  known  "Their  livers  and  sounds  eaten,"  says  an  old  writer, 
"  is  a  good  medieine  for  to  restore  them  that  have  melted  their  grease." 

The  interest  with  which  the  obscure  lives  of  these  islanders  and  the  clus- 
ter of  iidiosjiitable  rocks  on  which  they  dwell  are  invested  is  reinarkiililc 
enouL'h.  It  may  be  in  a  measure  owing  to  the  irregular  intereourse  former- 
ly h  Id  with  the  tnain-land,  and  to  the  eonse(iuent ly  limited  knowledge  of 
them.  And  it  is  heightened  in  no  small  degree  by  the  mystery  of  a  risi- 
dence  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  where  all  lies  with  the  atljacent  contimiit 
would  seem  to  be  dissevered.  Hut  if  the  open  Polar  Sea  be  a  fact  ainl 
not  a  myth,  the  continents  are  themselves  but  larger  islands  with  more  ex- 
j)anded  horizons. 

I  happened  one  day  to  be  in  Portsmouth.     Kutre  noiiti,  if  yon   want  to 
,-_„, — ,..  .  .  ..^,  ...,. .., — _-  -_ —^         ^ .     .    be  esteemed  tlicic 


you  must  Miv 
"Porehmoutli,";is 
even  the  Ictt'r- 
ed  of  that  ilk  do. 
The  morning  air 
had  been  frc.-li- 
■m^  oned  and  sweet- 
ened by  eojiioiis 
showers;  little 
I   pools  stood  ill  I  lie 

SUA(i    AMI    MINc.o    KikKS,   dick    ISLAND.  ^  ^  i 

Streets,  and  every 
blade  of  grass  was  tipped  with  a  crystal  rain-dro|).  Old  I'robabilities  liail 
foretold  clearing  weather.  Every  thing  seejued  propitious,  except  tlinl  it 
continued  to  rain  "  pitchforks,"  with  the  tines  downward,  and  that  the  wimi 
was  steadily  working  round  to  the  eastward.  As  the  struggle  between  I'oiil 
and  fair  seemed  at  length  to  incline  to  the  latter,  I  went  down  to  the  wliarf 
to  find  the  packet  for  the  Shoals  had  already  unmoored,  and  was  staiuliiig 
across  the  river.  Unloosing  a  dory  that  Avas  lying  conveniently  near,  I 
boarded  the  Marie  as  she  came  about,  thus  putting  myself  en  rapport  w  illi 
the  Shoals  by  means  of  this  little  Hoating  bridge,  or  island,  as  you  may  please 
to  have  it. 

It  being  the  first  day  of  summer,  the  passengers  were  so  few  as  to  be 
easily  taken  in  at  a  glance.  They  Avere  chiefly  woi'kmen  employed  on  the 
great  hotel  at  Star  Island,  or,  as  they  chose  to  style  themselves,  convii'ts 
going  into  servitude  on  a  desert  rock :  so  cheaply  did  they  hold  the  attnic- 


THE  ISLES  OF  SHOALS. 


IJU 


tioiis  of  tlio  isles.  IV'iIiapH  one  or  two  of  tlio  pnsscucfcrs  had  no  more  busi- 
ness at,  the  ishuids  thiui  myself. 

It  is  not  easy  to  have  a  more  (lelijrhlfiil  sail  than  down  the  Piseataqna,  or 
to  liiiii  a  more  beautiful  stream  when  its  banks  are  clothed  in  green.  It  has 
often  been  described,  and  may  again  be,  without  fear  of  exhausting  its  capa- 
bilities. The  movement  of  shipping  to  and  fro;  the  shifting  of  objects  as  you 
(jliile  by  thi'm,  together  with  the  historic  renown  with  which  its  shores  aie 
iiicriisted,  till  the  eye  while  exciting  the  imagination.  A  t'cw  miles  above 
I'ortHiiiuiitli  the  river  expands  into  a  broad  basin,  which  receives  the  volume 
ut' tide,  and  then  pours  it  into  the  sea  between  narrow  banks. 

We  gained  the  narrows  of  the  river  with  Peiroe's  Island  on  the  right  and 
Seuvey's  on  the  left,  each  crowned  with  grass-grown  batteries  thrown  up  in 
the  Uevoliition  to  defend  the  pass.  Here  the  stream  is  not  a  good  riHe-shot 
ill  hreaillli,  and  moves  with  increased  velocity  within  the  contracted  space, 
the  swirl  and  eddying  of  the  current  resenddiiig  the  boiling  of  a  huge  cal- 
dron. Its  surface  is  ringed  with  miniature  whirl|)ouls,  and  at  tlood-tide  the 
iiiid-cli.iiiiH'l  seems  lifte<l  above  the  level  of  the  river,  as  I  have  seen  the 
mi'-litv  volume  of  the  ^lissonri  during  its  aimual  rise.  It  is  not  strange  the 
phu'c  should  have  received  the  anathemas  of  mariners  from  immemoiial  time, 
or  boast  a  name  so  unconventional  withal  as  Pull-imd-be-d — d  Point. 

Clearing  the  narrows,  we  left  behind  us  the  city  steeples,  the  big  ship- 
liouses,  lazy  war  ships,  and  tall  chimneys  on  Kittery  side.  The  wind  being 
ji^lil,  the  skipper  got  up  a  stay-sail  from  the  fore-hatch.  As  it  was  bent  to 
tlu'  iialyards,  a  bottle  labeled  "ginger  .ale,"  but  smelling  uncommonly  like 
schiiaiips,  rolled  out  of  its  folds.  We  were  now  slowly  forging  past  New- 
castle, or  Great  Island.  The  sun  came  out  gloriously,  lighting  up  the  s])ire 
of  the  little  church  at  Kittery  Point  and  the  masts  of  vessels  lying  at  anchor 
ill  the  roads. 

({lancing  a.^tern,  I  remarked  four  wherries  coitiing  down  at  a  great  pacu 
with  the  ebb.  They  kept  directly  abreast  of  each  other,  as  if  moved  by  a 
siii;j;lt'  oarsman,  while  the  rowers  talked  and  laughed  as  they  might  have  done 
on  the  pavement  ashore.  I  could  see  by  the  crates  piled  in  the  stern  of  each 
boat  that  they  were  lobstermen,  going  outside  to  look  after  their  traj)S.  As 
they  went  by  they  seemed  so  many  huge  water-spiders  skimming  the  sur- 
face of  the  river. 

Fort  Constitution,  with  its  dismantled  walls  and  frowning  port-holes,  is 
now  passed,  and  Whale's  Back,  with  twin  light-houses,  shows  its  ledges  above 
water.  We  open  the  mouth  of  tlic  river  with  Odiorne's  Point  on  the  star- 
board and  (ierrish's  Island  on  the  port  bow,  the  swell  of  ocean  lifting  our 
lilllc  bark,  and  making  her  courtesy  to  the  great  deep. 

The  islands  had  appeared  in  view  wdien  we  were  off  Newcastle,  the  hotel 
on  Star  Island,  where  it  loomed  like  some  gray  sea-fortress,  being  the  most 
conspicuous  object.    As  we  ran  off  the  shore,  the  "  cape  of  the  main-land"  and 


i^i 


IGO 


THE  NEW  ETOLAND   COAST. 


tlie  "cul-de-sac^^  of  Cliatnjdain  cnine  out,  and  fixed  tliemsclves  wlicre  lie  liad 
seen  them.  One  by  one  tlie  islands  emerged  iVoni  the  dark  mass  that  involved 
the  whole,  and  beeanie  individuals.  Tiie  wind  dying  away  oft' Duck  Island,! 
was  fain  to  take  an  oar  in  the  whale-'.>oat  towing  astern.  We  rowed  aloiif 
under  Appledore  into  the  little  haven  between  that  island  and  Star,  with  no 
sound  but  the  dip  of  our  oars  to  break  tlie  stillness,  and  beached  our  boat 
as  the  evening  shadows  were  deepeninj;  o'  er  a  stormy  sea. 

Tiiere  had  been  a  striking  sunset.  Great  banks  of  clouds  were  massed 
above  the  western  horizon,  showing  rifts  of  molten  gold  whei-e  the  sun  hurst 
through,  which  the  sea,  in  its  turn,  reflected.  As  I  looked  over  toward  White 
Island,  the  lamps  were  lighted  in  the  tower,  turning  their  rays  hither  and 
thither  over  a  blackness  that  recalled  Poe's  sensuous  imagery  of  lami^li^lii 
gloating  o'  er  purple  velvet.  The  weather-wise  jjredicted  a  north-easter,  and 
I  went  to  l)ed  with  the  old  sea  "moaning  all  round  about  the  island." 

I  passed  my  first  night,  and  a  rude  one  i*^  was,  on  Star  Island.  Wlion  I 
arose  in  the  morning  and  looked  out  I  fancied  myself  at  sea,  as  indeed  I  was. 
The  ocean  was  on  every  side,  the  plash  of  the  waters  being  the  last  sound 
heard  at  night  and  the  first  on  waking.  I  saw  the  sun  rise  over  Smntty 
Nose  tlirough  the  same  stoi-m-cloiids  in  which  it  had  set  at  evening.  1  am 
an  early  riser,  but  even  befn-e  I  was  astir  a  wherry  crossed  the  little  harljoi- 
my  window  overlooked. 

The  islands  lie  in  two  States,  and  are  seven  in  number.  Duck  Island, 
the  most  dangerous  of  tlie  group;  A]ij)ledore,  sometimes  called  Hog  Isl.uid; 


Smu 


tty  N 


ose,  or 


Ilalev's,  and  Cedar,  beloiiu-  to  Elaine:  Star,  White,  and  I. 


on- 


doner's,  or  Lounging  Island,  are  in  New  Hampshire.  Appledore  is  the  largest, 
and  Cedar  the  smallest.  In  one  instance  I  have  known  Star  called  St.itcii 
Island,  though  it  was  formerly  better  known  as  Gosport,  the  name  of  its  fish- 
ing village,  whose  records  go  back  to  1V31.  Counting  Malaga,  a  little  islut 
attached  to  Smutty  Nose' by  a  breakwater,  and  there  are  eight  island 
the  cluster.     Tliev  arc  nine  miles  south-east  of  tlie  entrance  of  the  Piscata 


s  in 


qua 


and  twenty-one  north-east  from  Nevvburyport  Light.  The  harbor,  originally 
formed  by  Appledore,  Star,  and  Haley's  Islands,  was  made  more  secure  by  a 
sea-wall,  now  much  out  of  repair,  from  Smntty  Nose  to  Cedar  Island.  The 
roadstead  is  open  to  the  south-west,  and  is  iudifterently  sheltered  at  host. 
IJetween  Cedar  and  Star  is  a  narrow  passage  used  by  small  craft,  hidiiijh 
which  the  tide  runs  as  in  a  sluice-way.  The  group  is  environed  with  seviral 
dangerous  sunken  rocks.  Square  liock  is  to  the  westward  of  Londoner's; 
Wliite  Island  Ledge  south-west  of  that  isle ;  Anderson's  Ledge  is  south-east 
of  Star  Island  ;  and  Cedar  Island  Ledge  south  of  Smntty  Nose.' 


'  Star  Island  is  three-fomtlis  of  a  n)ile  long  and  half  a  mile  wide;  White  Island  is  also  three- 
foiiiths  of  a  mile  in  lengtii.  It  is  a  mile  and  thri'e  quarters  from  Star  Island.  Londoner's  is  five- 
eighths  of  a  mile  in  leufjth,  and  one-eighth  of  a  mile  fiom  Star  Island.     Duck  Island  's  seven- 


THE   ISLES  OF  SHOALS.  ICl 

Tlic  name  oftlie  Isles  of  Shoiils  is  first  inoiitioiicil  by  Christopher  Levett, 
ill  his  narrative  of  1623.  The  mariners  of  his  day  must  have  known  of  the 
(jfsrription  and  the  map  of  Smith,  but  they  seem  to  have  little  afieeted  the 
WMW  he  gave  the  islands.  It  would  not  be  unreasonable  to  infer  that  the 
!,n(iiii)  was  known  by  its  present  name  even  before  it  was  seen  by  Smith,  and 
ihiil  his  claims  were  of  little  weight  with  those  matter-of-fact  fishermen. 
Si)iiK'  writers  have  mad"  a  difficulty  of  the  meaning  of  the  name,  attribuling 
il  to  the  shoals,  or  schools,  offish  seen  then;  as  everywhere  along  the  coast  at 
cortiilM  seasons  of  the  year.  East  of  the  islands,  toward  the  open  sea,  there 
is  laid  down  on  old  charts  of  the  Province  an  extensive  shoal  called  Jeffrey's 
Li'iIlii'.  named  perhaps  fi)r  one  of  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  isles,  and  exlend- 
iii'j;  ill  the  direction  of  the  coast  from  the  latitude  of  Cape  Poi'i)oise  to  the 
southward  of  the  Shoals.  On  either  side  of  this  shallow,  which  is  not  of  great 
breailtli,  are  soundings  in  seventy  fathoms,  while  on  the  leilge  tlie  lead  bi'ings 
up  coarse  sand  in  thirty,  thirty-five,  and  foi'ty-five  fathoms.  The  presence 
of  this  ivef  tends  to  strengthen  the  theory  that  these  islands,  as  well  as  the 
iviiiarkalde  system  of  Casco  Hay,  once  formed  pai't  of  the  main-land.  The 
earlier  navigators  who  api)roached  the  coast,  cautiously  feeling  their  way 
with  the  lead, soon  after  passing  over  this  shoal  came  in  sight  of  the  islands, 
which,  it  is  believed,  served  to  mark  its  presence.  Jeffrey's  Ledge  has  been 
a  li-hing-ground  of  much  resort  for  the  islanders  since  its  first  discovery.' 

To  whatever  cause  science  may  attribute  the  origin  of  the  isles,  I  was 
struck,  at  fii'st  sight,  with  their  resemblance  to  the  bald  peaks  of  a  submerged 
volcano  thrust  upward  out  of  the  waters,  the  little  harbor  being  its  ei-ater. 
The  remarkable  fissures  traversing  the  crust  of  the  sevei'al  members  of  the 
liroiip,  ill  some  cases  nearly  pai-allel  with  the  shores,  strengthens  the  impres- 
sion. Ill  winter,  or  during  violent  storms,  tiie  savagery  of  these  rocks,  ex- 
posed to  the  full  fury  of  the  Atlantic,  and  surrounded  by  an  almost  perpetual 
suit',  is  overwhelming.  You  can  with  difficulty  believe  the  island  on  which 
you  stand  is  not  reeling  beneath  your  feet. 

Alter  exploring  the  shore  and  seeing  with  his  own  eyes  the  deep  gashes 
ill  its  iniiilcd  garment,  the  basins  hollowed  out  of  granite  and  flint,  and  the 
utter  wantonness  in  which  the  sea  has  pitched  about  the  fragments  it  has 
wrested  from  the  solid  rock,  the  futility  of  words  in  which  to  express  this 
confiision  comes  home  to  the  spectator.     ^Lr.  lliiwtho;  ne's  idea  greatly  re- 


eiglitlis  of  a  mile  in  length,  luul  three  miles  fVnm  Star  Island  ntcotinK-hoiise.  Apjjledoie  is  seven- 
i'i;,'litlis  of  a  mill!  from  Star,  and  a  mile  in  loiigtii.  Haley's,  or  Smutty  Nose,  is  a  mile  i,  longth, 
iiml  live  ei>j;htlis  of  a  mile  from  Star  Island  ini^etiiig-house.  Cedar  Isla.jd  is  one-tliinl  of  a  mile 
I'lii^',  niul  three-eiglitlis  of  a  mile  distant  from  the  meeting- house.  The  wliole  },'ioii|)  eontaius  soine- 
iliinc;  ill  excess  of  six  hundred  aeres. 

'  'I'll!'  term  "Sluials  of  Isles"  seems  rather  far-feti'heil.  and  scarcely  si^fiiificaut  to  English  sail- 
ers fiiMiihar  with  the  hundred  and  sixty  islands  of  the  Hehrides.  I  can  tind  no  instnnee  of  these 
i-ies  having  heeu  so  called. 

11 


162 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


seinbles  tlie  Iiulian  logi'iid  of  the  origin  of  Nantucket.  "As  mueli  as  any 
thing  else,"  lie  says,  "it  seems  as  if  some  of  tiie  massive  materials  of  tho 
world  remainetl  sui)ei'fluous  after  iho  Creator  had  finished,  and  were  e;irel'jss- 
ly  throw  11  down  here,  where  the  niillioiilh  ])art  of  them  emerge  from  tlie  sea 
and  in  the  eourse  of  thousands  of  years  have  become  partially  bestrewn  with 
n  little  soil." 

The  old  navigators  stigmatizi'd  T.abrador  as  the  ])la('e  to  whicli  fain  wa>i 
banished,  no  vegetation  bi'ing  produced  among  the  rocks  liiil  th(M-ns  and  moss. 
What  a  subject  White  Island  would  make  lor  a  painting  of  the  Deluge! 

A  Finlaiider  with  whom  I  parleyed  told  me  his  country  could  show  niiler 
places  than  these  isles,  and  that  the  winters  there  were  longer  and  coMit. 
Parson  Tiicke  used  to  say  the  winters  at  ihe  Shoals  were  "a  thin  uinli'r- 
waisteoat,  warmer"  than  on  the  opposite  maind:ind.  Doubtless  tlie  Orkneys 
or  Hebrides  e(pial  these  islands  in  desolaleness  and  wildness  of  aspect,  but 
they  could  scarce  surpass  them. 

The  islands  are  so  alike  in  their  nalund  features  that  a  genenil  descrip- 
tion of  one  will  apply  to  the  rest  of  the  cluster;  and  hence  the  Hrst  explored, 
so  far  as  its  crags,  se:i-caveriis,  and  galleries  are  in  (piestion,  is  apt  to  make 
the  strongest  impression.  J»iit  after  closer  acrjuaintance  each  of  the  seven  is 
found  to  possess  attractit)ns,  ])eeuliarities  even,  of  its  own.  They  grow  upon 
you  and  chai'in  away  your  better  judgment,  until  you  find  sermons,  or  what  is 
better,  in  stones,  and  good  health  everywhere.  The  change  comes  over  you 
imperceptibly,  and  you  are  metamoi-pliosed  for  the  time  into  a  i'lill-lledgod 
"Shoaler,"  ready  to  (dimb  a  precipice  or  handle  an  oav  with  any  native— 1 
was  about  to  say  of  the  soil — but  that  wotdd  be  (piite  too  strong  a  ligiiro 
for  tlie  Shoals. 

The  little  church  on  Star  Island  is  usually  first  visited.  When  T  was  lio- 
fore  here,  it  was  a  strikingly  pieturescpie  object,  surmounting  thi>  i' lands,  and 
visible  in  (dear  Mcather  twenty  miles  at  sea.  It  is  now  dwarfed  by  the  ho- 
tel, and  is  perhaps  even  no  longer  a  se:x-inark  for  the  fishermen.  Such  (]uaint 
little  turrets  have  I  seen  in  ohl  Dutch  ]>ri;its.  The  massive  walls  are  of 
rough  granite  from  the  abundance  of  the  isle.  Its  roof  .•ind  tower  arc  o!' 
wood,  and,  being  here,  what  else  could  it  h;ive  but  a  iish  for  its  weatlu'i'- 
vane  ?  The  bell  was  used,  while  I  was  there,  to  call  the  workmen  to  tlicir 
daily  labor;  but  its  tones  were  always  mournful,  and  vibrated  with  slraiigo 
dissonance  across  the  sea. 

The  whitewash  the  interior  walls  had  received  was  plentifully  bcspjitlcrfd 
upon  the  wooden  benches.  In  a  deeply  recessed  window  one  of  the  tiny  sea- 
birds  that  frequent  the  islands  was  beating  the  panes  with  its  wings.  1  'uavc 
the  little  fellow  his  liberty,  but  he  did  not  stay  for  thanks.  The  cIhik  h  is 
not  more  than  ten  paces  in  kiigth  by  si.K  in  breadth,  yet  was  sutficieiit,  no 
doubt,  for  all  the  church-goers  of  the  seven  islands.  Its  foundations  are  unoii 
a  rock,  and  it  is  altogether  a  queer  thing  in  an  odd  place. 


'Bii'    L. 


THE  LSLES  OF   SHOALS. 


163 


After  thv.'  desertion  of  A|)i)le(lore,  a  meeting -house  was  erected  on  Star 
Ifiland,  twenty-eiglit  by  forty-ciulit  leet,  with  n  boll.  I\Ir.  Moody,  of  Salis- 
bury, Massachusi'tls,  was,  in  170(»,  called  to  be  the  first  minister  there.  In 
ITiiu  111'  was  succeeded  by  Kev.  .]uhn  Tuckc. 

M.itlicr  relates  many  anecdotes  of  JJev.John  lirock,  one  of  the  early  min- 
isters ;il  the  islands,  in  illustration  of  the  efficacy  of  i)rayer.  The  child  of  one 
Arnold,  he  says,  lay  sick,  so  nearly  dead  that  those  present  believed  it  had 
ixally  ex])ired  ;  "but  Mr.  IJrock,  perceiviuL!;  some  life  in  it,  goes  to  prayer,  and 
ill  his  jirayer  uses  this  expression, '  Lord,  wilt  thou  not  grant  some  sign  before 
\\v  leave  prayer  that  thou  wilt  spare  and  Ileal  this  child?  We  can  not  leave 
ihee  "lil  we  have  it.'     The  child  sneez'd  immediately." 


mm, 


doing  round  tlie  corner  of  the  church,  I  camo  upon  a  coast  pilot,  pcerinj; 
throu'^h  his  glass  for  the  smoke  of  a  steamer,  cable-freighted,  that  had  been 
tiioinenlarily  expected  from  Halifax  Ibr  a  week.  His  trim  little  boat  lay  in 
the  harbor  below  us  at  her  moorings.  It  was,  he  said,  a  favorite  station  from 
which  to  intercept  inward-l)ound  vessels.  The  ])ilot  told  me,  with  a  (piiet 
cliiickle,  of  a  coaster,  manned  by  raw  Irish  hands,  that  liad  attempted  in  broad 
<l;iy  to  run  iiiio  the  harbor  over  the  breakwater  fiom  Haley's  to  Cedar  isl- 
iiiiil.  They  did  not  get  in,  he  said  ;  but  it  being  a  full  tide  und  simioth  sea, 
till!  mule  only  knocked  oft"  the  cut-water  of  their  craft. 

Behind  the  meeting-house  is  the  little  school-house,  in  as  dire  confusion 


'  Huilt  in  1800,  thronj;li  the  efforts  of  DiuIIoy  A.  Tvnp.  of  Newburyport,  Mnssaclinsctfs.  Pe.!- 
ii'att'd  ill  NoveinljL'i-  by  Uev.  Jeileiliali  Morse,  father  of  S.  F.  B.  Morse.  A  school  wiis  for  a  riiue 
kept  ill  ii. 


164 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


when  T  saw  it  as  any  bad  li<)y  ct)uKl  have  wished.  Tlie  windows  were  sluit- 
lered,  cliairs  and  benelies  oviTliirned,  and  a  seelion  of  nisly  stove-pipe  hiiiisr 
I'roni  llie  eeiliiig,  while  the  liagnient  of  a  wall  map,  pressed  into  serviee  as  a 
window-enrtaiii,  was  being  scanned  through  the  dingy  glass  by  an  unli'm 
with  a  tnni  for  geography. 

East  of  the  ehnreh  is  a  row  of  cottages,  the  renuiant  of  the  fishing  vilia<re, 
serving  to  sliow  what  it  nas  like  before  modern  innovations  had  swept  the 
moiety  of  ancient  (iosport  from  the  face  of  the  island.  Each  had  a  bird- 
house  on  tlie  peak  of  its  gable.  There  was  the  semblance  of  regnlaritv  in 
the  arrangement  of  these  cottages,  the  schooMionse  leading  the  van ;  l»ut 
they  were  nearly  or  (piile  all  unpainted,  these  homely  abodes  of  a  rude  peu])li'. 

On  looking  aroniid,  you  perceived  walled  inclosures,  soiiie  of  them  con- 
taining a  little  earth  patched  with  green  grass,  but  all  thickly  studded  with 
boulders.  Is  it  possible,  you  ask,  that  such  a  waste  sliould  ever  be  the  caiiM' 
of  iieart-burnings,  or  know  the  name  of  bond,  mortgage,  or  warranty?  Little 
did  these  impoverished  islanders  dream  the  day  woidd  come  w  hen  their  ster- 
ile rocks  would  be  eagerly  s(.)Ught  after  by  the  fortunate  jtossessors  of  alniii- 
dance. 

.Star  Island  fornu'i'ly  afforded  pasturage  for  a  few  sheep  and  cows.  There 
is  a  record  of  a  woman  \\\\o  died  at  Gosport  in  1795, aged  ninety.  She  kept 
two  cows,  led  in  winter  on  hay  cut  by  licr  in  sunnner  with  a  knife  amini'i  the 
rocks.  The  cows  were  taken  from  her  by  tlu'  iJritish  in  1775,  and  killed,  tn 
the  great  gi'ief  of  old  ]Mrs.  Pusley.  Eormerly  there  was  moi'e  vegetation 
liei-e,  but  at  0(bl  times  the  poor  people  have  gathered  and  burned  foi'  fuel 
fully  half  the  tiii'f  on  the  island.  It  is  writteu  in  the  book  of  recor(l.>  tlint 
the  soil  of  the  islands  is  gradually  decreasing,  and  that  a  time  would  coiiil' 
When  the  dead  must  be  burii'(l  in  the  sea  or  on  the  main-laud. 

From  the  year  1775  until  18'JO,  the  few  iidiabitants  who  remained  on  the 
islands  lived  in  a  depIoral)le  condition  of  ignoi'ance  and  vice.  Some  of  lliem 
had  lost  tlieir  ages  for  want  of  a  record.  Each  family  was  a  law  to  itsell', 
The  town  organization  was  abandoned.  Even  the  mari'iage  relation  was  for- 
gotten, and  the  restraints  and  usages  of  civilized  life  set  at  naught.  Some 
of  the  UH)re  debased,  about  1700,  jjulled  down  and  burned  the  old  mcrlini;- 
liouse,  which  had  been  a  prominent  landmark  for  seamen;  but,  says  the  ree- 
ord,  "the  special  judgments  of  Heaven  seem  to  have  followed  this  piece  ot 
wickedness  to  those  immediately  concerned  in  it."  The  jiarsonage-lioase 
miLrht  have  fared  as  ill,  had  it  not  been  iloated  awav  to  Old  York  hv  Mr. 
Tucke's  son-in-law. 

IJev.  Jedediah  Morse  has  entered  in  the  record  two  marriages  solenuiizeii 
by  lain  during  the  time  he  was  on  the  islands,  with  the  following  reniaiks: 
"The  two  couples  .above  mentioneel  had  been  published  eight  or  ten  yeai- 
ago  (but  not  marrieil),  and  cohabited  together  since,  and  had  each  a  miinher 
of  children. had  been  formerly  mairied  to  another  womau  ;  slu    hiid 


TIIK   ISLKS  OF   SHOALS. 


]6i 


Icfi  iiiin,and  coliiibitfd  with  licr  uncle,  by  whom  she  has  a  number  of  cliil- 
(Irc'ii.  No  rojiuhir  divorce;  had  been  obtained.  Considerinir  the  peculiar  de- 
raii'jed  state  of  the  ])eo))le  on  these  islands,  and  the  ip;norance  of  the  i)arties, 
it  was  thought  expedient,  in  order  as  far  as  possible  to  prevent  future  sin,  to 
iiiarrv  them.'" 


THE  (iHAviis,  wrru  cai-tain  .joiin  smith  s  monument,  stau  island. 

It  is  ))erha]is  as  well  the  visitor  should  be  his  own  guide  about  thi>  inlands, 
leaving  it  to  chance  to  direct  his  footsteps.  After  an  inspection  of  the  more 
lirdiiiiiient  objects,  such  as  may  be  taken  in  at  a  glance  from  the  little  church, 
I  waiiilered  at  will,  encountering  at  every  few  stejis  some  new  surprise.  Some 
tine  says,  if  we  seek  for  pleasure  it  is  ]-)retty  sur(>  to  elude  our  pursuit,  coming 
ot'leiier  to  us  unawares,  and  the  more  une.vpected  the  higher  the  gratiticatioii. 
It  was  iu  some  such  mood  I  stumbled,  to  speak  literally,  on  the  old  burial- 
plaee  of  the  islands.  T  am  aware  that  one  does  not,  as  a  ride,  seek  enjoyment 
ill  a  urave-ynrd  ;  but  I  have  ever  found  an  tmtlagging  interest  in  deciphering 
the  tablets  of  a  buried  city  or  hamlet.  These  stones  may  be  sententious  or 
liKluacious,  pompous  or  humble,  and  sometimes  grindy  merry. 


'  Km-  nu>re  than  a  oontiiiy  previous  to  tlie  Hovolnlion  the  islniuls  were  pvospvM'ons,  contiiininn 
from  tlnoe  to  six  liniulied  souls.  In  1800  tliere  were  tlnee  families  and  twenty  i)ersons  on  Smutty 
Nose;  llficeii  families  and  uinoty-two  i)evsons  ow  Star  Isiantl.  idias  Gosport ;  elfvon  dweHings  and 
ten  n>li.hi)uses  on  the  latter,  and  three  decent  dwellings  on  the  former.  At  this  time  there  was 
not  an  inljiihitant  on  Appledore,  alius  Hog  Island. 


1C6 


TiiK  NKW  en(;lani)  coast. 


Our  Gorm.iti  friends  call  the  church-yard  "God's  Field."  Here  are  no  in- 
scriptions, except  on  the  horizontal  slabs  ot'Tucke  and  Stephens.  There  i«  no 
dirt'erence  between  the  rouu;)!  stones  jtrotrudiMtj;  from  the  ground  and  the  iVa-i- 
nients  atrewn  broadcast  about  the  little  house-lots.  So  far  as  this  inclostm'  is 
concerned,  the  annals  of  the  haiidet  are  as  a  clojscd  book.  The  instinct  w  liicli 
bids  you  forbear  treading  on  a  grave  is  at  fault  liere.  It  requires  sharp  eves 
and  a  close  scrutiny  to  discover  that  some  ettbrt  has  been  made  to  distiiiL,niisli 
this  handful  of  graves  by  head  and  foot  stones ;  that  some  are  of  greater  ;iiii| 
some  of  lesser  length ;  or  that  the  little  hollows  and  hillocks  have  their  sccrot 


raean'.ng 


The  two  sliepherds  lie  at  the  head  of  their  little  fold,  in  vaults  composc(l 
of  llie  rude  masses  found  ri'ady  at  hand.  For  fear  their  inscriptions  iiiiixlit 
one  day  be  effaced,  I  transcribed  them  : 


In  Memory  of 
TIIF.  RKV.  JOSIAII  STF.PIIFA'S, 

A  faitlil'ul  Instructor  of  N'oiitli,  and  pious 

Minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Suii])ortc(l  on  this  Island  by  the 

Society  for  Propagating  the  (iospei, 

who  died  July  2,  1804. 

Aged  64  years. 


Likewise  of 

MRS.  SUSANNAH  STEPHENS, 

his  beloved  Wife, 

who  died  Dec.  7,  1810. 

Aged  54  years. 


Underneath 

are  the  Ren;ains  of 

THE  REV.  JOHN  TUCKE,  A.M. 

He  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  A.D.  1723, 

Was  ordained  here  July  26,  1732, 

And  died  Aug.  12,  1773. 

JEt.  72, 

He  was  affable  and  polite  in  his  manner, 

Amiable  in  his  disposition, 

Of  great  piety  and  integrity,  given  to  hospitality, 

Diligent  and  faithful  in  his  pastoral  otifice. 

Well  learned  in  History  and  Geography,  as  well  as 

Cicncral  Science, 

And  a  careful  Physician  both  to  the  bodies 

and  the  souls  of  his  People. 

Erected  1800.  In  Memory  of  the  Just. 


THE   ISLKS   OF  SHOALS. 


167 


Vov  two-score  ycii's  tliis  pious  man  labored  in  liis  stony  vineyard.  His 
]i;insIiionfrs  agreed  to  give  him  a  quintal  per  man  of  winter  fish — their  best. 
Tiii'V  covenanted  to  carry  liis  wood  irom  tlie  hmdiug  liume  Ibr  liini.  Witli 
this  he  wab  content.  lie  was  their  minister,  teaclier,  physician,  and  even 
k('|il  tlie  accounts  of  a  little  store  in  a  scrupulously  exact  way.  I  have  been 
jioriiiLi;  over  his  old-time  chirography,  clear-cut  and  beautiful  as  copper-plate. 
There  are  the  good  old  English  names  of  Ruth,  Xabby,  and  Judy,  of  JJetty, 
l*atsey,and  Love.  We  get  a  glimpse  of  their  household  economy  in  the  por- 
vinii'ers,  pewter  lamps,  and  pint-pots;  the  horn  combs,  thread,  tape,  and  end- 
less rows  of  pins  for  women-folk;  the  knitting-needles  that  clicked  by  the 
tirosiilf  in  long  winter  nights,  while  the  lads  were  away  on  Jeffrey's  Ledge. 

IVoin  here  I  wended  my  way  to  Smith's  monument,  erected  in  1864,  a  tri- 
angular shaft  of  marble,  rising  eight  or  ten  feet  above  a  craggy  rock.  It  is 
placed  on  a  pedestal  of  rough  stone,  and  protected  by  a  railing  from  vandal 
JKiiuN.  Its  situation  on  one  of  the  highest  eminences  of  Star  Island  has  ex- 
posed the  inscription  to  the  weather,  until  it  is  become  difficult  to  decipher. 
The  tliree  sides  of  the  pillar  are  occupied  by  a  lengthy  eulogium  on  this  hero 
(if  iiiaiiy  adventures, 

Of  ni(ivin<]j  accidents  In-  flood  .niid  field; 

Of  liair-bveadth  scapes  i"  the  iminiiieiit  deadly  breach." 

Like  Tein})le  I>ar  of  old,  the  monument  is  crowned  with  heads — those  of 
the  three  JMoslems  slain  by  Smith,  and  seen  on  his  scutcheon,  as  given  by 
Stow,  where  they  are  also  (piartered.  I  know  of  no  other  instance  of  decapi- 
tati'<l  heads  being  set  up  in  Xew  England  since  King  Pliilip's  was  struck  off 
and  stuck  on  a  ])ike  at  Plymouth,  in  1G7G.  Two  of  the  heads  had  fallen 
down,  and  the  third  seemed  inclined  to  follow.  Then  the  monument  will  be 
as  headless  as  the  doughty  captain's  tombstone  in  the  pavement  of  St.  Sepul- 
ciue's,  worn  smooth  by  many  feet.  In  brief,  the  three  Turks'  heads  stich.  no 
better  than  the  name  given  by  Smith  to  the  islands  off  Cape  Aim — after  they 
had  been  named  by  De  Monts. 

Smith  says  he  had  six  or  seven  charts  or  maps  of  the  coast  so  unlike  each 
other  as  to  do  him  no  more  good  than  waste  paper.  lie  gives  credit  to  (Jos- 
nokl  and  Weymouth  for  their  relations. 

A  fi}\Y  rods  south-east  of  the  old  bnrving-ground  is  a  sheltered  nook,  in 
which  ai'o  three  little  graves,  wholly  concealed  by  <lwarf  willows  and  wild 
rose-bushes.  They  are  tenanted  by  three  childn  :i  —  "Jessie,'"  two  years; 
"Millie,"  four  years;  and  "  Mittie,"  seven  years  oil — the  daughters  of  liev. 
(ioorgc  Boebe,  some  time  missionary  to  these  isles.  Under  the  name  of  the 
little  one  last  named  are  these  touching,  tearful  words:  "I  don't  Mant  to  die, 
hut  ril  do  just  as  Jesus  wants  me  to."  A  gentle  hand  has  formed  this  re- 
treat, and  protected  it  with  a  wooden  fence.  While  I  stood  there  a  song- 
bird perched  above  the  entrance  and  poured  forth  his  matin  lay.  There  is  a 
third  burial-i)lace  on  the  harbor  side,  but  it  lacks  interest. 


168 


THE   NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Another  liistorio  s})ot  is  tlic  riiiiuMl  fort,  on  the  west  point  of  the  isl 


niil 


ovorlookin<>;  the  entrance  to  the  rojidstead.  Its  contour  tnay  !)•>  (raced,  and 
!i  littU'  of  thi'  enibankniciit  of  one  lace  remains.  Tlie  wdl  was  iillcd  In  ilic 
curb  with  water.  It  once  mounted  nine  ibur-pounder  cannon,  but  at  tlic  lic- 
tiiiuiini;  of  the  Revolution  was  dismanlU'd,  and  the  yiins  taken  to  Newbury- 
port.  I  suppose  the  inhabitants  for  a  long  time  to  have  neglected  iirccaii- 
tions  for  defense,  as  C'oloiud  Komer,  in  his  report  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  alioiit 
169!),  nnikes  no  mention  ol'  any  fortification  here.  Oiu-  of  its  teniblc  liiin- 
{)Oundei's  would  not  now  make  a  mouthful  tor  our  sea-coast  ordnance. 

Continuing  my  walk  by  the  shore,  I  canu'  to  the  cavern  popularly  kuouii 
as  Ik'tty  Moody's  Hole.  It  is  formed  by  the  lodgment  of  masses  of  rock,  so 
as  to  cover  one  oi'lhe  gulches  common  to  the  isle.  IIere,says  tradition,  Uctty 
concealed  herself,  with  her  two  children,  while  the  Indians  wer<'  ravaging  tlu; 
isles  and  carrying  many  fiMualcs  into  captivity.  The  story  goes  thai  the 
children,  becoming  fi'ightened  in  the  caveru,  began  to  cry,  whereat  theii-  in- 
human mother,  in  an  excess  of  I'eai',  sti'augled  tlieni  both;  others  say  she  w;;s 
drowned  here.  The  affair  is  saitl  [o  have  happened  during  Philip's  War.  I 
do  not  find  it  menlioiii'd  by  either  Mather  or  Hubbard.'  A\.  times  duiin!^' 
the  fishing  season  there  was  hardly  a  man  left  upon  the  islands,  a  circniii- 
stance  well  known  to  the  Indians, 


A  meuuiir  I'Xtracted    from    the    French    archive 


s   gives   a    picture  of  ll 


Isles  in  170-J,  when  an  attack  appears  to  iiave  been  meditated.  "The  Isles 
de  Ciiooles  are  about  three  leagues  from  Peskatoue  to  the  south-soutli-e;ist 
from  tlie  embouchure  of  the  river,  where  a  great  (juaiitity  of  fish  are  taken. 
These  are  three  isles  in  the  form  of  a  tripod,  and  at  about  a  musket-shot  one 
from  the  other 


11    *    *   i!j    li  '■p 


hall 


'W 


There  are  at  these  three  islands  about  sixtv  fisliiinj; 
manned  each  by  four  men.  Besides  these  are  the  masters  of  the 
fishing  stages,  and,  as  they  are  assisted  by  the  women  in  taking  care  of  the 
fish,  there  may  be  in  all  about  two  hundred  and  eighty  men;  but  it  is  neces- 
sary to  observe  that  from  ^Monday  to  Saturday  there  aiv  hardly  any  lel't  on 
shore,  all  being  at  sea  on  the  fishing-grotnids." 

Takintr  note  of  the  ra<rQ;ed  fissures,  which  tradition  ascribes  to  the  tlnv 


'  1(!!)1.  A  cniisideiiiblc  l)o(Iy  of  Eastern  Indians  catno  down  from  the  interior.  \\ itli  the  iiitcii- 
tioM  of  sacking  the  Lsles  of  Siiuals,  i)nt  on  An{;nst  ttli  eanie  npon  some  lMijj;lisii  forces  at  .\I:ii|iii)ii, 
under  Cajitain  Mareli,  and  Inul  a  fi^ht  witii  tiiem.  'I'his  prevented  their  proceeding,  and  saved  llie 
Shoals. — "  Majtnalia,"  vol.  xi.,  ]>.  (Jll. 

1092.  Governor  Fletcher  examined  tliree  deserters,  or  rencgadnes,  as  lie  calls  them.  tVmn  (^111'- 
bee,  wlio  came  before  him  September  23d.  They  said  two  men-of-war  had  ariived  at  Qiieliee.  nml 
were  fitting  out  for  an  expedition  along  the  coast,  "  with  a  design  to  tall  on  Wells,  Isle  of  Shoals. 
l'iscatn([na,  etc." — "  New  York  ColoTiial  Doennients,"  vol.  iii.,  j).  8r)">. 

1724.  After  the  Indians  had  cat  off  Captain  Winslow  and  thirteen  of  his  men  in  the  River  Si. 
(ieorge,  encouraged  by  this  success,  the  enemy  made  a  still  gi eater  attem])t  by  water,  and  seized 
two  shalbtps  at  the  Isles  of  Shoals.  —  IIutciuxso.n's  "  Massaehnsetts,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  307. 


TIIK   ISLES  OF  SHOALS. 


109 


one  o 


urtlnC'riH'ifixion, 
Icl.'iiiibc'rocl  down 
r  the  rocky 
sjoryi'sfroinwli  it'll 
tliL'  soilor  foniiii- 
tioii  has  been  eat- 
en out,  by  the 
(■nii>iiiiiiiig  a|)]ie- 
liU'  (>\'  the  waves. 


Soiiu'l  lines 
SCI' I  It:    was 


the  tie 
matli 


easy  bv  irre<j;iuar 


OCK, 


steps  of  tra|)-i 
and  a^aiii  a  Hyin 
leap  was  iiecessa-    > 


rv   I  I'll 


>tOIH', 


111  stone   to 


Th 


per- 


jKMMlicular  walls 
of  the  ^■o^ge  rose 
near  til'ly  I'eet  at 

its  (iiitlet,  at  the 

sliorc.     It   was    a  gouge,  stah  island. 

ivlicl'to  emerge  from  tlie  (Iripping  sides  and  pent-ti])  space  into  tlie  open  air. 
Till'  Miiiiie,  on  Star  Island,  is  a  iine  speeimen  of  the  intrusion  of  igneous  rock 
iiiiioiig  the  harder  formation. 

If  you  would  know  what  tlio  sea  can  do,  go  down  one  of  these  gulches  to 
tli'j  waler''s  edge  and  be  satisfied.  I  could  not  find  a  round  pebble  among 
tlie  (h'bris  of  shattered  rock  that  lay  tumbled  about;  only  fractured  pieces  of 
iricgiilar  shapes.  Those  rocks  submerged  by  the  tide  were  blackened  as  if 
liy  tire,  and  shagged  with  weed.  Overhead  the  precijiitous  clitt's  caught  the 
siiifs  rays  on  countless  glittering  points,  the  mica  with  which  they  are  so 
lileiitii'iilly  bes])aiigled  dazzling  the  eye  with  its  brilliancy.  Elsewhere  they 
were  Hint,  of  which  there  was  more  than  enough  to  have  furnished  all  Europe 
ill  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  oi-  else  granite.  Looking  up  from  among  the  ahat- 
!!■•<  which  girds  the  isle  aln>ut,  you  are  confronteil  by  masses  of  overlianging 
i<H'ks  that  threaten  to  detach  themselves  from  the  clitf  and  bury  you  in 
their  ruins. 

It  is  not  for  tlie  timid  to  attempt  a  ramble  among  the  rocks  on  the  At- 
l;iiilic  side  at  low  tide.  He  should  be  sure-footed  and  supple-jointed  wlio  nn- 
ileiiakes  it,  with  an  eye  to  estimate  the  exact  distance  where  the  incoming 
sinf-wave  is  to  break.  The  illusions  produced  in  the  mind  by  the  great 
waves  that  roll  past  are  not  the  least  striking  sensations  experienced.  The 
speed  with  which  they  press  In,  and  the  noise  accompanying  their  jiassage 


iro 


TIIK  Ni:W   KN(il.ANI)  COAST. 


thron<>;li  the  giillii's  and  rents  of  llio  slioro,  contribiito  to  niako  tliom  seem 
iiuicli  laiiicr  tliaii  tlicy  really  are.  It  was  only  by  continually  wateliinLC  the 
M'aves  and  iiieasurinL?  their  I'arthest  reaeli  that  I  was  al)le  to  await  one  (jf 
these  curliii<^  monsters  with  eoin]iosni'e ;  and  even  then  I  conld  not  avuii] 
looking  suddenly  round  on  hearing  the  rush  of  a  breaker  behind  nie ;  anil 
over  and  anon  one  of  greater  volume  destroyed  ull  confidence  by  bursting  far 
above  the  boundaries  the  mind  liad  assigned  for  its  utmost  limits. 

Nothing  struek  me  more  than  the  idea  of  such  mighty  forces  going  tn 
\m\v  waste.  A  lifting  power  the  Syraeusan  never  dreamed  of  literally  tlnow- 
ing  itself  away!  An  engine  suttieient  to  turn  all  the  machinery  in  (Miristcii- 
dom  lying  idle  at  our  very  doors.  AVliat  might  not  be  aeconijilished  if  Old 
Neptune  wouhl  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel,  instead  of  making  all  this  mag- 
nificent but  useless  pother! 

I  noticed  that  the  waves,  after  churning  themselves  into  foam,  assiiincil 
emerald  tints,  and  caught  a  momentary  gleam  of  sapphire,  melting  into  ame- 
thyst, during  the  rapid  changes  from  the  bluish-green  of  solid  water  to  lis 
greatest  states  of  disintegration.  The  same  change  of  color  has  been  obsorvoil 
in  the  Hebrides,  and  elsewhere. 

The  place  that  held  for  me  more  of  fascination  and  sublimity  than  othois 
was  the  bluff  that  looks  out  ujiom  the  vast  ocean.  I  was  ol'ten  there.  Tin 
swell  of  the  Atlantic  is  not  like  the  long  regular  roll  of  the  Pacific,  but  it 
beats  with  steady  rhythm.  The  grandest  effects  are  produced  after  a  heavy 
north-east  blow,  when  the  waves  assume  the  larger  and  more  fiattened  form 
known  as  the  ground-swell.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  stand  on  the  cliU' 
aller  three  or  four  days  of  "easterly  weather"  had  produced  this  effect.  Smli 
billows  as  poured  with  solid  impact  on  the  I'oeks,  leaping  twenty  feet  in  lln' 
air,  or  hea})ed  themselves  in  fountains  of  boiling  foam  around  its  base,  give  :i 
comjietent  idea  of  i-esistless  power!  The  shock  and  recoil  seemed  to  ^liakc 
the  foundations  of  the  island. 

Upon  a  shelf  or  platform  of  this  clifi'  a  young  lady-teacher  lost  her  lid' 
in  September,  1848,  Since  then  the  rock  on  which  she  was  seated  has  been 
called  "Miss  UnderhilTs  Chair."  Other  accidents  have  occurred  on  the  same 
spot,  insuflicient,  it  would  seem,  to  prevent  the  foolhardy  from  risking  llicir 
lives  for  a  seat  in  this  fatal  chair. 

There  are  circumstances  that  cast  a  melancholy  interest  around  the  fate; 
of  ]Miss  Underhill.  In  early  life  she  had  been  betrothed,  and  the  banns,  as 
was  then  the  custom,  had  been  published  in  the  village  church.  Her  latlior, 
a  stern  old  Quaker,  opposed  the  match,  threatening  to  tear  down  the  marriasfL' 
intention  rather  than  see  his  daughter  wed  with  one  of  another  sect.  Wheth- 
er from  this  or  other  cause,  the  suitor  ceased  his  attentions,  and  not  long  after 
took  another  wife  in  the  same  village. 

The  disappointment  was  believed  to  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  a 
girl  of  Miss  Underbill's  strength  of  character.     She  was  a  Methodist,  deeply 


TIIK   ISLKS  OV   SHOALS. 


171 


itiilMK'il  with  the  rolii>ioiis  /.ciil  of  tli:it  ilciiomiii.'vtion.  lloaring  fi'om  ouo  who 
liiid  lii'cn  Hi  till'  Isk's  of  Slioals  tliat  ihi;  |»('o]ilc'  wcro  in  as  <i;rt'at  iicimI  of  a 
missionary  as  those  of  Hunnah  or  of  llie  (ioKl  Coast,  it  became  an  aiVair  of 
conscience  with  her  to  go  there  and  teach. 

She  came  to  the  islands,  ami  applied  herself  with  ardor  to  the  work  before 
licr,  a  labor  from  which  any  but  an  enthusiast  would  have  recoiled.  It  is  as- 
sortvd  tiiat  no  s|)ot  of  American  soil  contained  so  debased  a  ct>mmunily  as 
this. 

It  was  Iier  habit  every  pleasant  day,  at  tlu'  close  of  sclionl,  to  repair  to 
the  hi'^li  cliU'on  the  eastern  shore  of  Star  Island,  where  a  rock  conveniently 
placed  l)y  nature  became  her  favorite  seat.  Here,  with  her  iiible  or  other 
book,  she  was  accustomed  to  pas8  the  time  in  leading  and  conlem})lation. 
She  was  accompanied  on  her  last  visit  by  a  gentleman,  erroneously  tiiought 
to  have  been  her  lover,  wiio  ventured  on  the  rock  with  hi'r,  A  tiilal  wave  of 
luiiisual  magnitude  swept  them  from  their  feet.  The  gentleman  succeeded  in 
re;j,;uiiing  his  foothold,  but  the  lady  was  no  more  seen. 

Search  was  made  for  the  body  witlit)ut  success.  A  week  after  the  occur- 
loiicc  it  was  found  on  York  Iieach,  where  the  tide  Iiad  left  it.  There  was  not 
llie  least  disorder  in  the  ill-fated  laily's  dress;  the  bonnet  still  covered  her 
licail,  the  ear-rings  were  in  her  ears,  and  her  shawl  was  pinned  across  lier 
hreast.  In  a  word,  all  was  just  as  when  she  had  set  out  for  hc'r  walk.  The 
kiiid-liearted  man  who  found  the  poor  waif  took  it  home,  and  cared  for  it  as  if 
il  li:id  been  his  own  dead.  An  ailvertisement  caught  the  eye  of  Miss  I'nder- 
Iiill's  brother.  She  was  carried  to  Chester,  New  Hampshire,  her  native  j)lace, 
and  there  l)uried. 

Notwithstanding  the  hundde  surroundings  of  her  home,  Miss  Underbill 
was  a  person  of  superior  and  striking  appearance.  Her  face  was  winning 
and  her  self-possessed  manner  is  still  the  talk  of  her  old-time  associates. 
1  have  heard,  as  a  secpiel  to  the  school-teacher's  story,  that  some  years  after 
the  liital  accident  her  old  suitor  came  to  the  Isles,  and,  while  bathing  there, 
was  drowned.  The  recovery  of  the  body  of  the  lady  uninjured  seems  little 
short  of  nuraculous,  and  confirms  the  presence  of  a  strong  nnder-tow,as  I  had 
suspected  on  seeing  the  floats  of  the  lobster-men  moored  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  I'ocks. 

Schiller  may  have  stood,  in  imagination,  on  some  such  crag  as  this  when 
his  wicked  king  flung  his  golden  goblet  into  the  mad  sea,  and  with  it  the  life 
of  the  hapless  stripling  who  plunged,  at  his  challenge,  down  into 

"The  endless  and  niensiiveless  world  of  tlie  deep." 

In  a  neighboring  ravine  I  found  a  spring  of  fresh  water,  though  rather 
hrackish  to  the  taste;  and  in  the  more  sheltered  places  were  heaps  of  mussel- 
shells,  the  outer  sui'face  of  a  beautiful  purple.  They  look  better  where  they 
are  than  in  my  cabinet,  though  the  lining  of  those  I  secured  have  an  enamel 


172 


TIIK   Ni:\V  KNOLANI)  COAST. 


«>f  motlu'r-(»f-|)carl.  Aimtlicr  n'lnark.'iblu  fVatiirc  I  obscrvtMl  wciv  llio  (lc|ii>s. 
its  of  «?iiivcl  auioiiu;  tlio  crcvii'i's ;  I»iit  I  s!i\v  no  Hint  uriionu;  tln'  wulor-wnrn 
boiiMc'iH  ncilt^t'd,  !is  if  \>y  a  licavy  pri'sstiri',  in  Mssiiits  of  tlic  rocks.  I  ic- 
niaikt'd  also  l\w  jd'csciici'  of  a  poor  scliistiis  iiiUTst'ctiiig'  tlu'  strata  iiiTo  .'iml 
tlicri'.     Some  of  it  I  i-oiiM  l)ivak  off  with  my  liaiuls. 

Aiiolliur  (k'liLtlilfiil  raiiibli;  is  on  tliu  iiaiWor  side,  from  tlic  old  fort  rniiiiii 
to  Caswell's  IVak  or  beyond.  Passiiii;;  by  the  littU'  liand-brcadtli  of  snihly 
boaeli  wlicrc  tlic  dories  may  land,  once  paved,  the  cliionieles  tell  ns,  m my 
feet  dee[»  with  lisli-liones,  I  observed  willi  |)leasure  tiie  ni'eeii  oasis  spread  niit 
between  tlie  hotel  and  tlie  shore.  Tlii'  proprietor  seemed  resolved  thai  liic 
very  roeks  shoidd  lilossom,  and  already  "a  naiden  smile(l"  above  the  Hint. 

Tlu're  is  a  siiilit  worth  seeinu;  from  the  eiipola  of  the  hotel;  of  the  Wiiitc 
ilills,  and  Agamen liens,  with  the  sands  of  Wye,  Hampton,  ami  S(pnim  stretdi- 
in«x  aloni;  shore.  I  eonld  see  tin?  steeples  of  I'ortsmonth  and  of  N'ewbury- 
port,  the  blnif  at  IJoar's  Head,  and  the  smoke  of  a  seore  of  inland  vill:ii:cs. 
l'\)llowin<^  with  the  eye  the  sonlh  coast  where  it  sweeps  ronnd  I|)swieli  May 
one  sees  C'sipe  An;:  and  Thatcher's  Island  oiitlyinLt;  the  uate-way  of  the  busy 
bay  beyond,  into  which  all  manner  of  craft  were  pressing  sail.  Northward 
were  Newcastle,  Kittery,  and  York,  and  i'arther  eastward  the  lonely  nick  of 
Uoon  Island.  Shoreward  is  Apple(b)re,  with  the  turret  of  its  hotel  visihlo 
above;  and  riglit  below  ns  the  little  harbor  so  often  a  welcome  haven  to  llic 
storm-tossed  mariner.' 

Most  visitoi's  to  the  islands  are  familiar  with  the  tcriiblc  stcry  ol'  the 
wreck  of  the  XottuKjlKUn  galley,  of  London,  in  the  year  1710.  IShe  was 
bonnd  into  Boston,  and  having  made  tlie  land  to  the  eastward  of  the  Piscat- 
a(]im,  shaped  her  course  southward,  driven  before  a  north-east  gale,  accom- 
panied with  lain,  hail,  and  snow.  Ft)r  ten  or  twelve  davs  siiccei'ding  tlicv 
had  no  observation.  On  the  night  of  the  1  Itli  of  December,  while  under  easy 
sail,  the  vessel  struck  on  Boon  Island. 

With  great  ditliciiltv  the  crew  gained  the  rocks.  The  sliip  having  iiiiiiie- 
diately  broken  up,  they  were  able  to  reciover  nothing  eatable,  except  tliiTe 
.<5mall  cheeses  found  entangled  among 
s))ars  and  sails  that  came  ashore  gave 


the  rock-weed.      Some  pieces  of  the 
them  a  temporary  shelter,  but  e\  i  ry 


'  Mountaim  seen  off  the  coast :  Agiiinenticiis,  twelve  miles  north  of  tlie  entniiice  of  tlio  I'iscnt- 
n(|iin ;  three  inferior  siurunits,  known  ns  Frost's  Ilills,  fit  ii  less  ilistaiice  on  the  north  west.  Jn  New 
Hampshire  the  Hist  ridge  is  twenty  or  tliirty  miles  from  sea,  in  the  towns  of  Hiininyton,  Notliiii;- 
ham,  and  Hochester — the  summits  known  as  Tcnerifte,  Saddlel)ack,  Tiiekaway,  etc.  Their  fieiioiiil 
name  is  the  lihie  Hills.  Reyond  these  are  several  detached  summits  —  Mount  Major,  Mod'b 
Monntaiii,  etc.  ;  also  a  third  range  farther  inland,  with  Chocorna,  Ossipee,  and  Kearsargc.  In  tlic 
lofty  ridge  separaiiiig  the  waters  of  the  Meirimac  and  the  Coiinectieut  is  CJrand  Monadiiock,  twen- 
ty-two miles  east  of  the  C'omiecticiit  Hiver ;  thirty  miles  nortii  of  this  is  Siinapee,  and  forty-ciglit 
farther,  Mooseliillock.  The  ranges  then  trend  away  north-east,  and  are  massed  in  the  AVliite 
Hills. 


THE   ISLKH  OF  SHOALS. 


173 


tliiii!,'  I'lso  liatl  l)OPii  o.irriod  away  rrom  tlic  island  \ty  tlio  stronrj  drift.  In  s\ 
tliiv  <ii"  two  llie  cook  died.  Day  hy  day  llicir  suH'crinns  fVoin  rold  and  liun- 
.^<cr  iiicivasi'd.  Tim  main-land  lii'iiiif  in  fnll  vic-w  bcrorc  tlicin,  tlioy  built  a 
Im.il  Hid  <;(it  it  into  tlii!  water.  Il  was  overset,  and  dashed  in  pieees  ajyainst 
tlic  KK  ks.  One  day  tliey  descried  three  boats  in  tlie  ottiiiii-,  but  no  sij^nals 
tlifV  were  able  to  make  eould  attract  notice.  Then,  wlien  reduced  to  a  niis- 
(■r.'il'lc  band  of  eniaciiiled,  hopeless  wretches,  they  undertook  and  with  great 
hihor  constrncted  a  raft,  upon  which  two  men  ventui'ed  to  attenipt  to  reai-h 
ihu  slmre.  Two  days  afterward  it  was  found  on  the  beach,  with  one  of  its 
(Mvw  lyinu'  dead  at  some  distance.  After  this  they  were  objinred  to  resort  to 
caiinih.'ilisni  in  order  to  sustain  life,  subsistini;  on  the  body  of  the  carpentei", 
s|iarin;ily  doled  out  to  them  by  tlu'  captain's  hiind.  To  make  an  end  of  this 
(•li,i|it(r  ol  horrors,  the  survivors  were  rescued  after  havinuj  been  twenty-four 
ilays  <.M  the  island.  The  raft  was,  after  all,  for  them  a  messenger  of  presei-- 
vation,  for  it  induced  a  search  fi»r  the  buildirs. 

\()  one  can  read  this  narrative  without  feeling  Ids  syujpatliy  strongly  ex- 
citi'il  f((r  the  bi'avo  John  Dcane,  master  of  the  wrecked  vessel.  He  seemed 
|i()sscssed  of  jnore  tiian  human  ibrtitude,  and  has  told  with  a  sailor's  simple 
(lircclncss  of  his  heroic  strugu'le  for  life.  His  account  was  lirst  puldislied  iii 
171 1,  Mppeuded  to  a  sermon  by  Cotton  Mather.  Deane  afterward  commauil- 
0(1  a  ship  of  war  in  the  service  of  the  Czar,  I'eter  the  (Ireat.' 

i'Vw  who  have  seen  the  light-house  tower  on  this  lonely  rock,  distant  not 
more  than  a  dozen  miles  iVom  the  coast,  receiving  daily  and  nightly  obeisance 
of  hundreds  of  passing  sails,  can  retilize  that  the  story  of  the  Xotttnt/hain 
L'oiild  be  true.  It  is  a  terrible  injunction  to  keep  the  lamps  trimmed  and 
brightly  burning.'^ 

I'roceeding  onward  in  this  direction,  I  came  to  the  iish-houses  that  remain 
oil  the  isle.  Tubs  of  trawls,  a  barrid  or  two  of  tish-oil,  a  pile  i>f  split  fish,  and 
tliehalfof  a  hogshead,  in  which  a  "kentle"or  so  of"  merchantable  iish  "  had 
just  bei'ii  salted  down,  were  here  and  there;  a  hand-barrow  on  wliich  to  carry 
the  fish  from  the  boat,  a  lobster-pot,  and  a  pair  of  rusty  scales,  ought  to  bo 
added  to  the  inventory.  Sou'-westers  ami  suits  ol'  (til-skin  clothing  hung 
against  the  walls;  and  in  the  loft  overhead  wei'e  a  ;-|>are  block  or  two  and  a 
pureed  of  oars,  evidently  picked  up  adrift,  there  being  no  two  of  the  same 
Iciigth.  In  some  of  the  houses  were  whale-boats,  that  had  been  hauled  up  to 
be  calked  and  jtainted,  that  the  men  were  ])reparing  to  laimeli.  They  were 
all  schoouer-iigged,  ami  some  wei'e  decked  over  so  as  to  furnish  a  little  cuddy 
ior  bad  weather.  No  more  sea-worthy  craft  can  be  found,  and  inider  giud- 
aiKX'  of  a  practiced  hand  one  will  sail,  as  sea-folk  say, "  like  a  witch."     They 


•loliii  Ward  Dt-aii,  of  IJoston,  the  iUToniiilislieU  untiiiuiiry,  has  ellL-ited  this  and  other  fat'ts  rel- 
ative t(i  his  niiinesiike. 

■  Oil  IJoone  Isliiiul  it  is  siiid  tliere  is  no  soil  except  wluit  has  been  carried  there. 


174 


THK   NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


usually  contained  a  coil  of  liall'-iiicli  lino  for  iht  road,  a  "  killick,"  and  a  bnu'c 
of  pr  \vd{'r-ko<jjs  for  tlio  tiawls. 

The  proc't'ss  of  curing,  or,  as  it  is  called  by  the  islanders, "  saving,"  iisli  is 
familiar  to  all  who  live  near  the  sea-sho.v,  and  has  not  changed  in  two  liiin- 
dred  veai's.      It  is  describe*!  ;is  practiced  here  in  1800,  by  Dr.  Morse  : 

"The  fish,  in  the  first  ])lace,  ai'c  tin  own  from  the  boat  in  piles  on  flic 
shore.  The  cutter  then  takes  them  and  cuts  their  throat,  and  rips  ojien  tiicir 
bellies.  In  this  stale  he  hands  them  to  the  header,  who  takes  out  the  entrails 
(detacliing  the  livers,  which  are  ])rcsiM'vi'd  for  the  sake  of  the  oil  tliev  con- 
tain), and  breaks  oii' llicir  heads.  The  splitter  tinMi  takes  DUt  the  backhdiic, 
and  splits  them  completely  oi)en,  ;uid  hands  them  to  the  salter,  who  i^aJts 
and  piles  them  in  bulk,  where  they  lie  tVoiu  ten  to  twenty  hours,  as  is  most 
convenient.  The  shori'men  and  the  women  then  wash  and  spriad  them  on 
the  Hakes.  Here  they  remain  three  or  ftnir  weeks,  according  to  the  weatlicr, 
during  which  time  they  are  ol'ten  turned,  pili'il  in  fagots,  and  then  s|nvail 
again,  until  they  are  compK'tely  cui'ed  for  market." 

The  "dun,"  or  winter  iish,  foiineily  cured  licn',  were  larger  and  tliicktr 
than  the  stimmer  hsli.  (ircat  ]iains  were  taken  in  drying  tlinn,  the  Ijsli- 
women  often  covering  the  "fagots"  with  bed-cpiilts  to  kt'cp  thnii  ••U'lii. 
Jjcing  cured  in  cold  weather,  thev  re(];iire(l  l)ut  little  salt,  and  were  .iliimst 
trans;  areiit  when  held  up  to  the  light.  These  fish  sometimes  weiLj-hed  a  liiiii- 
dred  pounds  -tr  more.  The  i]\[\\  Iish  were  of  great  estei'm  in  Spain  and  in  llic 
]Mediierranean  ports,  brinu'iiig  the  higliest  jirice  during  Lent,  'i'iiey  I'muhI 
their  way  to  .Afadrid,  where  many  a  ]ilat ter,  suu>king  hot,  has  douhtluss 
graced  the  tabh'  c;f  ijie  Ksciirial.      In  i  74.j  a  (piintal  would  sell  for  a  guinea. 

In  ITT-)  the  revolting  colonics,  unable  to  ]»rotect  the  islands,  ordered  llirir 
abandonment.  A  few  of  the  inhabitants  remained,  but  the  laigcr  minilur 
removed  to  the  near  maind.aml,  and  were  sc-.ttered  among  the  neighlmriii'.; 
towns.  The  Shoals  became  through  the  war  a  rende/.V(Mis  for  British  slii|is. 
The  last  lit-ial  act  of  the  last  royal  governor  ol'  New  Hampshire  was  jkm- 
formc-d  here  in  ITTo,  when  Sir  John  Wentworth  prorogued  the  Asseinhly  ef 
his  majesty's  lost  province'. 


M 

iiavin- 
lioinii' 

Ithled 
to   .M;,l 

at  ll;^ 
tills  lit 


••■V 


CLIKl'H,  WIIITi:    Ir^I.ANI). 


CIIAPTKi:   XII. 


TIIK    ISLES    OF   SllOAI.S- 


'oNfiiined. 


' — TliLM'n  lie  laiul-nits  mid  wiiter-i'iils,  water  thieves  iiml  liiiul  tliieves;    1  ineiin  jiiriiles. 


Minlutiit  I'l'  Venice. 


M 


\ 


iicxl  cxfursioii  was  to  >iiim 


ttv  X 


osi",  or 


II 


ilcv  s. 


Soon  <Voiu  Still-  Isl- 


and il  sliows  two  omiiioiu'os,  Mitli  a  litllo  liaiiilct  of  four  liotisos,  all 
li.iviiin'  tlioir  <;ablo-oiuls  lowaiil  tlic-  liarlior,  on  tlio  iioarost  risiiiji  ifnuind. 
lloinid  tlio  soutli-wost  point  of  Smutty  Nose  is  liic  littlo  liavon  alroady  al- 
liiil('(l  to  in  the  provions  chaptor,  niado  liy  biiililinLt  a  causeway  ofstono  over 
to  Mala;4a,  wlioro  Ibrniorly  tlio  sou  ran  tliroui*'i.  Tiiis  .Mr.  Sauuiol  Haloy  <liil 
lit  hiN  own  cost,  ('ApoiKliii'i;  part  of  a  liantlsoiue  fortune  on  tlie  work.  T'' 
tlli^  little  havon,  wo  arc  told,  niany  distressed  \cssels  liavi-  [tut  in  and  foiuul 


ITG 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


safe  aiu'liora^e.  Tlio  cliroiiiclos,  spoakiiii^  by  the  pen  of  a  fair  islander,  s:iv 
old  Mr.  Haley,  in  Iniildin;^  a  wall,  turned  over  a  large  flat  stone,  beneath 
which  lay  four  bars  of  solid  silver;  with  whieh,  adds  tradition,  he  benau  his 
sea  mole.  I  should  have  thought,  had  this  preeio'  -'scovery  gained  ciir- 
I'eney,  no  stone  would  liave  been  lel't  unturned  b)  '  islanders,  and  that 
Haley's  wall  might  have  I'isen  with  niagieal  celerity. 

It  is  eertain  these  islands  were  in  former  times  the  I'esort  of  freeboi iters, 
with  sueh  names  as  Dixy  Dull,  Low,  and  Argall  (a  licensed  and  titled  bucca- 
neer), who  left  the  traces  of  their  own  lawlessness  in  the  manner  of  life  ol  the 
islanders.  It  was  a  convenient  place  in  which  to  reiit  or  obtain  IVesIi  pni- 
visions  without  the  asking  of  troublesome  questions.'  The  pirates  comM  ex- 
pect little  booty  from  the  fishermen,  but  they  often  picked  them  uj)  at  sea  to 
leplenish  their  crews. 

In  the  year  1689  two  noted  buccaneers,  Thomas  Hawkins  and  Tlmmas 
Pound,  cruised  on  the  coast  of  New  England,  committing  many  depredations. 
The  Hay  colony  determined  on  their  capture,  and  disj)atched  an  armed  sloop 
called  the  J-ot't/,  Sanmel  Pease  commander,  which  i)ut  to  sea  in  October  of 
that  year.  Hearing  the  pirates  had  been  cruising  at  the  mouth  of  Bnzzaid's 
IJay,  Captain  Pease  made  all  sail  in  that  diix'ction.  The  M<(r)/  overhauled 
the  outlaw  off  Wood's  Hole.  Pease  ran  down  to  her,  hailed,  and  ordered  her 
to  heave  to.  The  freebooter  ran  up  a  blood-red  flag  in  defiance,  when  the 
Mary  fired  a  shot  athwait  her  forefoot,  and  again  hailiMl,  with  a  deniainl  to 
strike  her  colors.  Pound,  who  stood  upon  his  (piailer-deck,  answered  tlie  Imil 
with,  "Come  on,  you  dogs,  and  I  will  strike  you."  Waving  his  sword,  his 
men  poured  a  volley  into  the  Mdnj,  and  the  action  for  some  time  raged 
fiercely,  no  quarter  being  exjtected.  Captain  Pease  at  length  carried  his  ad- 
versary by  boarding,  receiving  wounds  in  the  hand-to-hand  conflict  of  «  hicli 
lie  died. 

In  IT'jn  the  sloop  Dolp/iiii,  of  Ci\\K'  Ann,  was  taken  on  tlie  Banks  by  riiil- 
lips,  a  noted  pirate.  TIk'  able-bodi'.'d  of  the  JJolpliin  were  forced  to  join  the 
])irate  crew.  Among  the  luckless  fishei-men  was  John  Fillmore,  of  Ipswich. 
Phillips,  to  quiet  tlieir  scruples,  promised  (>)i  /lis  honor  to  set  them  at  iilicrty 
at  the  end  of  three  months.  Finding  no  other  hope  of  escape,  for  of  course 
the  liar  and  pirate  never  meant  to  keep  his  word,  Fillmore,  with  the  help 
of  Edward  Cheesman  and  an  Indian,  seizing  his  op])ortunity,  killed  ihree 
of  the  chief  jtirates,  including  Phillips,  on  the  spot.     The  rest  of  the  (  rew. 


'  1070.  Tlie  General  Court  lieing  informed  that  tliere  is  a  ship  liding  in  the  rond  at  liie  hV' 
of  Shoales  sns);ecled  to  he  ii  pirut,  and  iiath  pirattically  seized  the  savd  shij)  and  goods  fiom  >tmw 
of  tlie  French  nation  in  amity  witii  tlie  English,  and  doetli  not  come  under  coinand,  this  Coiut 
doeth  declare  and  order  tliat  neither  the  say<l  ship  or  goods  or  any  of  the  conipany  shall  come  into 
our  jnrisiliclion,  or  be  liroiighl  into  any  of  our  ports,  upon  iicniidty  of  hein;;  seized  upon  aii'i  ^e- 
eured  to  answer  what  shall  be  objected  against  them. — '  Massuciiusetts  Colonial  liecords,"A()i  iv,, 
part  ii.,  p.  44!). 


THE   ISLES  OF   SHOALS. 


n7 


iiKule  11])  in  part  of  pressed  nioii,  submitted,  and  the  captured  vessel  was 
lirou'ilil  into  IJostou  by  tlie  concpiei-ors  on  the  ;?d  of  ^Nfay,  17-4.  Joliu  Fill- 
more, t  lie  quasi  pirate,  was  the  o-reat-graiidfather  of  milliard  Fillmore,  tliir- 
teeiitii  President  of  the  United  Slates. 

It  i>  alHrmed  on  the  authority  of  Charles  Chauney  that  Low  once  cap- 
tuicil  snnie  fishermen  from  the  '"Shoals."  Disappointed,  j)erliaps,  in  his  ex- 
iiectatidn  of  booty,  he  first  eaused  the  eaptives  to  be  barl)arously  Hogged,  and 
;it'ter\v;ird  rccpiired  eaeh  of  them  three  times  to  curse  Parson  Mather  or  be 
1i;ui!j:('i1.     The  )>risoners  did  not  rejeet  the  alternative. 

N(i  (l<iiil»t  these  ))irates  had  heard  of  the  sermons  Cotton  ^father  was  in 
the  li:ihit  of  preaching  before  the  execution  of  nniny  of  their  confederates. 
Ill  Ills  lime  it  was  the  custom  to  marcli  coiideiniUMl  prisoners  under  a  strong 
uiinnl  to  some  church  on  the  Sabbath  jtreceding  tiie  day  on  which  they  were 
to  sutler.  Tliere,  marshaled  in  the  bi'oad  aisle,  they  listened  to  a  discourse  on 
the  enormity  of  their  crimes  and  the  torments  that  awaited  them  in  the  other 
worliljliis  being  the  itninner  in  which  the  old  divines  administered  the  con- 
solations of  religion  to  such  desperate  malefactors. 

New  England  could  contrilmte  a  thick  volume  to  the  annals  of  piracy  in 
the  New  World  from  the  records  of  a  hundred  years  subse(pient  to  her  set- 
tleineiit.  The  name  of  Kidd  was  long  a  liugbear  with  which  to  terrify  way- 
ward children  into  obedience,  and  the  searcli  for  his  treasure  ectntinues,  as  we 
have  seen,  to  this  day.  Uradisii,  l>ell:imy,  and  Quelch  sailed  these  seas  like 
true  ('(ill'iwers  of  tliose  dreadi'il  rovers  wlio  swept  the  English  coasts,  and  sent 
ilair  (K'fiaiice  to  tlie  king  himself; 

"(io  tell  tlio  KiiiK  of  I'jifiliuul,  go  toll  him  tliii<*  from  mo, 
'I'lioiifjli  he  reigns  king  (>"er  all  tliu  hind,  1   uill  reign  king  at  sea." 

Tliey  have  still  the  ghost  of  a  jtirate  on  A]>])le(lore,  one  of  Kidd's  men. 
riiefc  has  consefpiently  been  niiicli  seeking  alter  treasure.  The  t'ace  of  the 
spectre  is  "]>ale,  and  very  dreadful"  to  behold;  and  its  neck,  it  is  averii'il, 
shows  the  livid  mark  of  the  hangmairs  no-)se.  it  answers  to  the  name  of 
"Old  r>al»."  Once  no  islander  could  be  found  hardy  enough  to  venture  on 
Alinlclorc  after  night-fall.  I  shrewdly  suspect  "  ()ld  l>ab  "  to  be  in  the  pay 
III' tile  baiiihtons. 

bi  1  Tno,  lle.ar-admiral  J-Jenbow  was  lying  at  l*iscata(pia,  with  nine  of  Kidd's 
iiralis  on  bciard  for  transport  at  ion  to  England.  Kobert  Pn'adenliain,  Kidd's 
siiigeoii,  says  ilu'  Earl  of  Jkdlomont,  was  tiie  '' obstinatest  and  most  Ininlen- 
«'ilel'"em  all."'  In  the  year  172n  the  ]>irates  William  Fly,  Samuel  Cole,  and 
lli'iiry  (ireenville  were  taken  and  put  to  death  at  i'oston.  al'ter  having  been 
well  lueaehed  to  in  Old  Pirattle  Street  by  Dr.  Colinan.  l*'ly.  tin'  captain,  lik(^ 
:i  inuiilciit  knave,  refused  to  coiric  into  church,  and  on  the  way  to  execu- 
tion hore  himsi'lf  with  great  bravado.  lii' jumped  briskly  into  tin-  cart  with 
a  nosegay  in  jiis  hand,  smiling  and  bowing  lo  the  spectators,  as  he  passed 

1-J 


178 


THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


aloiipr,  Avilli  rofil  or  nftVctctl  imconccni.     At  tlic  gallows  he  showed  the  !<aiiio 
obstinacy  until  his  face  was  rovcrcd.' 

The  various  k'H'ciuls  relative  to  tlie  corsairs,  ami  tlie  secreting  of  tlicir  ijl. 
gotten  gains  among  thi'se  rocks,  wor.hl  ot"  tiicmsclves  occupy  a  length  v  cliait- 
ter ;  and  the  recital  of  the  fearful  sights  and  sounds  which  have  confioincd 
such  as  were  liardy  enough  to  seek  for  treasure  would  satisfy  the  most  in- 
veterate marvel-monger  in  the  land. 

Among  others  to  whom  it  is  said  these  islands  were  known  was  the  vv\v 

l)ratc(l  Captain  Teach,  or  niacklicaid. 
as  he  was  ot'ten  called.  He  is  sim. 
]H)sed  to  have  buried  immense  treas- 
ure here,  some  of  which,  like  Fialcv's 
ingots,  has  been  dug  up  and  ap|irii- 
pi'iatiMl  by  the  islanders.  On  luu.  df 
his  cruises,  while  lying  (ill"  the  Scuttisli 
coast  wailing  for  a  rieli  t  radei',  lie  \v;i< 
boardi'd  by  a  stranger,  who  came  dtl' 
in  a  small  boat  from  the  shore.  The 
new-comer  demanded  to  be  h'd  heloiv 
the  irate  chiei",  in  whose  ca!)in  he  ro- 
mained  soiiu'  tiuu'  shut  up.  At  leiiu'lli 
'!\'aeh  appeai'eil  on  deck  w  ith  the  stran- 
ger, wiiom  he  introduced  to  the  cicu 
as  a  cojuiade.  The  \essel  tln'y  were 
expecting  soon  came  in  si^ht,  .ami  alUr 
a  blocidy  c(inilict  became  the  prize  of  Idackbeard.  It  was  deternuned  l)y  liic 
corsair  to  man  and  aian  the  ca])tured  vt'ssel.  The  unknown  had  fought  willi 
undaunted  br.avery  anil  address  during  the  battle.  He  was  given  the  ceiii- 
mand  of  the  prize, 

Tlie  str.anger  Scot  was  not  long  in  g:iiniiig  the  bad  eminence  of  beiiiij^  as 
good  a  ])irate  as  his  renowned  conimander.  Ills  crew  thought  him  iiixinci- 
l)le,  and  followed  where  hi;  led.  ^\t  hast,  after  his  appetite  hu-  weallli  liail 
been  satistiial  by  the  rich  booty  of  the  Soulhi'rn  seas,  he  arrived  on  the  ceasl 
of  his  n.ative  land.  His  lio.at  was  mainiefl,  and  landed  him  on  the  beaih  w:\y 
an  hund)le  dwelling,  whence  he  soon  returned,  bearing  in  his  arms  tiie  lifilrs'> 
form  of  a  woman. 

The  pirate  ship  immediately  set  sail  for  AuHM'ica,  and  in  diu'  time  didpiad 
her  ;ii>cl)or  in  the  road  of  the  Isles  of  Shoals.     Here  the  crew   jiasseil  thci' 

'  After  cxinaitimi  the  liodies  of  the  piriuos  were  taken  to  tlie  little  island  'ii  FV'-Inn  liuiln'i' 
known  as  Nix's  Mate,  on  wliicli  there  is  a  iiuiiianient.  Ely  was  hunt;  in  cliiiin.s.  and  tlie  oiliorl«i' 
lairied  <mi  liie  lieueli.  Tin'  lutiii  (lisaiipearance  of  this  island  hefi  fe  the  enta'()iicliaiciit<  •iiIm' scii 
is  the  fo.iidation  of  a  legend.  Hiitl  Island,  in  the  smne  liiirhor,  on  wliicli  pirates  liave  I  'i  n  I'sc- 
cnted,  has  also  disa)ipoai'ed.     It  foiiiu'rly  eontiiined  a  ''iiiNiilenilile  aivii. 


HLACIvUlOAUl).  Tin;    PIltATE. 


Till':  ISLES  or  SHOALS. 


179 


time  in  secreting  their  riches  and  in  carousal.  The  comniancler's  portion  was 
hiirii  (1  on  an  island  apart  from  the  rest.  He  roamed  over  the  isles  with  his 
liciiiiiitul  companion,  t'orirett'ul,  it  wouhl  seem,  of  lis  fearful  trade,  until  one 
inorniiiLi'  a  sail  was  seen  standing  in  lor  the  islands.  All  was  now  activity 
(111  liicird  the  pirate;  but  before  getting  under  way  the  outlaw  carried  the 


llKinlcMl 


to  the  island  where  he  had  l)uriL'(l  his  ti'easMr( 


and  ma( 


le  1 


icr  take  a 


t'l'Mit'iil  oath  to  guard  the  spot  from  mortals  until  his  return,  were  it  not  'til 
ilodinsiiav.     He  then  put  to  sea. 

The  strange  sail  proved  to  be  a  warlike  vessel  in  search  of  the  fi'eebooler. 
A  long  ai'.l  desperate  battle  ensued,  in  which  the  cruiser  at  last  silenced  her 
;ulversar\  s  guns.  The  vessels  were  grappled  for  a  last  stiMiggle,  when  a  ter- 
ritic  eNplosion  strewed  the  sea  with  the  fi'agments  of  both.  Stung  to  mad- 
ness bv  defeat,  knowing  that  if  taken  alive  the  gil)bet  awaiteil  him,  the  rover 
liiul  iirci]  the  magazine,  involving  friend  .and  foe  in  a  common  fate. 

A  tew  mangled  wi'etehes  succeeded  in  reaching  the  islands,  only  to  per- 
i>li  iiiiserably,  one  by  one,  from  co'd  and  hungi'r.  The  pirate's  mistress  re- 
iiiuiiicd  true  to  her  oath  to  the  last,  oi'  until  she  also  succumbed  to  want  and 
ix]iosiire.  IJy  report,  she  has  been  seen  more  than  once  on  White  Islaml — a 
tall,  sliapelv  tigtire,  wi'apped  in  a  long  sea-cloak,  her  heail  and  neck  uneovei'ed, 
(xceiil  by  a  pi'ofusion  of  golden  haii\  Iler  face  is  described  as  exipiisitely 
rumidrd.  hut  pale  and  still  as  marble.  She  takes  her  staml  on  the  verge  of  a 
l(i\v.  |irnjectiiig  point,  gazing  lixedly  out  upon  the  ocean  in  an  attitude  of  in- 
tdiM'  exiieclation.  A  foiMiier  race  of  tishermen  avoncheil  that  her  ghost  was 
.loeiiied  to  liauiit  those  vovks  until  the  last  trump  shall  sound,  and  that  the 
aiicifiil  giaves  to  be  tbuiid  on  the  islamls  were  tenanted  by  IJIackbeard's  men.' 

These  islands  were  also  the  favorite  haunt  of  smugglers."  3Iany  a  rmdet 
e!' Canary  has  been  "passed"  here  that  never  ]>aid  duty  to  king  or  Congrt'ss. 
It  must  have  been  a  very  jiaradise  of  free-traders,  who,  doubtless,  bad  the  svm- 
jiatliies  of  the  inhabitants  in  their  illicit  Iratlie.  "What  a  smuggler's  isle!" 
was  my  Mieiital  t'jaculatioti  when  I  lii'st  set  foot  on  Star  Island;  what  a  re- 
treat lor  some  Direk  Ifatleraick  or  outlawed  .lean  f.atitte! 

1  rowed  over  to  Smutty  Nose  in  a  wherry.     The  name  has  a  rough  sig- 

'  A  sonicwlmt  inoro  niitliciitic  imvid  conflict  occun'eil  ilmiii};  tlio  war  of  ISl'J  wiili  fircat 
iiiitiiii,  wlicu  ilio  AiiKTiciin  ]irivi!teor,  (iovirnnr  Piumiiier.  was  capuircd  on  .IcItVcv's  Ledge  iiy  :i 
\\\\\\A\  cnii^or,  ilu'  Sir  John  Sherlirnhe.  'the  Auieiicin  liail  previously  made  many  captmos. 
Oil  Niwimmdiaiid  slic  sustained  a  hard  (iglit  wiili  a  vcs>el  ot'  Ineive  guns,  sent  om  Id  lal<L'  her. 
Slie  aNc)  heat  oiV  six  l)nrges  sent  on  tlic  same  eiraiid. 

"  I'l^'l!.     Oi'dereil  tliat  no  shi)  ps  do  tmlivcr  any  part  of  tl'cir  lading  at  tlie  Isles  ol'  Slin:!.-;  tio- 

I'Mo  ilu'v  have  liist  enteivd  with  the  Collector  of  II.  M.  Cnstoms,  and  also  witii  the  ollieer  receiv- 

'.'  his  iiiaj"  imposts  and  revenues  arising  u])on  wine.  s|ieini.  v>tc.,  imported  either  in  Hoston.  Salem, 

'  I'istatafpiii :  iind  thai  all  slii|ps  and  vessdls  trading  to  the  eastward  of  ("apo  Torpns  shall  enter 

'  '•(inieul  the  aforesaid  I'orts,  or  at  the  town  of  Fiilinouili  ia  the  I'rov.  of  Muiiio.  — "  Massuchiibotls 

•  iniiuil  Kee(a-ds,"  vol.  !.,  tj.  4 J. 


i'..v»««jiKuBivmui&..t..a^(£:.^jSK0iM&^jK'''ieRi6^^^a}A;^i»^, 


180 


THE   ^'EW  ENGLAND   COAST. 


nificaiioo.  Looking  at  llic  islands  at  low  tide,  tliov  ])rosciit  wcll-dclinod  liclts 
of  color.  First  is  the  dark  line  of  submerged  roek-weed,  wliieh  led  some  aciito 
fisherman  to  hit  oil'  with  etlect  the  more  popular  name  of  Haley's  Island- 
next  eomes  a  sli'ip  almost  as  green  as  the  grass  in  the  roeky  pastures;  jihuve 
these  ayain,  shaded  into  browns  or  dingy  yellows,  the  roeks  appear  oi'  a 
tawny  hue,  and  then  blanehed  to  a  ghastly  whiteness,  u  little  lelieved  hv 
dusky  patehes  of  green. 

1  remarked  that  the  schooners  of  twent"  or  tliirtv  tons'  burden  Ivin"-  in 
the  harbor  were  all  at  mooi'ings,  ready  to  run  after  a  school  of  tish  or  awav 
frt>m  a  storm.  It  is  only  a  few  years  since  tiiree  of  these  vessels  wei'c  lihiwii 
from  thi'ir  moorings  and  stranded  on  the  rocks  of  Smutty  Nose  and  ^\]iplrd(irc. 

In  U»;}5  the  ship  Jdines,  Captain  Taylor,  of  Hristol,  England,  had  a  narrow 
escape  fi'om  being  wrecked  here.  After  losing  throe  anchors,  she  was  with 
difficidty  guided  j)ast  the  great  rocks  into  the  open  sea.  The  cui'ious  icadrr 
will  find  the  details  quaintly  set  forth  in  the  jouinal  of  IJev.  Richai'd  blather, 
the  ancestor  of  a  celebrated  family  of  New  England  divines.'  She  had  on 
board  a  hundred  passengers  for  the  Massachusetts  Colony. 

AVhile  lyiiig  on  our  oars  in  this  basin,  where  so  many  antique  craft  have 
l)een  berthed,  it  is  perhaps  not  amiss  to  allude  to  Thomas  ^lorton,  of  Mount 
\Vt»llaston,'''  alias  .Mei'ry  Mount,  To  do  so  it  will  not  o'lly  be  necessary  to 
claml)er  up  the  crumbling  side  of  the  shij)  in  which  lie  was  being  se  it  a 
prisoner  to  England,  but  to  surmount  j)rejudices  equilly  <lecrepit,  that,  liko 
the  specti'e  of  "  Ohl  IJab,"  continue  to  ajipear  long  after  they  have  been  de- 
cently gil)beted.  The  incident  derives  a  certain  inter(>^'  'Vom  the  fact  tliat 
Morton's  was  the  first  'nstance  of  banishment  in  the  New  England  coloiiii's. 
The  only  consequence  of  Thomas  Morton,  of  Clifford's  Inn,  gent.,  is  due  to 
the  effort  to  cast  obhxpiy  upon  the  Pilgrims. 

In  the  year  1028  the  ship  Wlnde  was  riding  at  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  >b)rtiiii 
liaving  been  s;'!zed  by  oi'der  of  Plymouth  Colony,  and  i)Ut  on  board  for  tiaiis- 
portation  to  Enyland.  AVhat  manner  of  ship  the  Whale  was  nniy  be  gatlici- 
ed  from  ^Morton's  own  account  of  her.  'I'lu'  master  he  calls  "  Mr.  Weallici- 
cock,"  and  the  ship  "a  pitiful,  weather-beaten  craft,"  in  which  he  was  "in 
more  (banger  th..ii  Jonah  in  the  wh   ie's  belly." 

The  cause  of  ^Morton's  banishnu'nt  is  often  asserted  to  have  been  sini]ily 
his  licentious  conduct,  and  w  h;it  sonu'  have  been  pleased  to  call  indiilLiciice 
in  such  "hearty  ohl  English  pastimes"  as  (bmcing  about  a  May-pole  sluic- 
ing songs  of  no  <b)ubtful  import,  holding  high  wassail  the  while,  like  the  mail, 
rovstering  rogues  his  ibllowers  wei'e.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  are  indicted  hy 
.1  class  of  historians  desirous  of  displaying  to  the  worhl  the  intolerance  of  the 
"I*lymoutli  Separatists,"  as  distinguished  from  the  liberal'ty  which  niarkiMi 


'  Hoston,  18.')0:  origiiiiil  in  poss=(ission  of  Dorchester  Aiitiiiiiarinii  Society. 

"  Mount  Wollastoii,  Quiiicy,  Massueluisetts ;  present  residence  of  lolin  Qiiiiicy  Adams.  Vm\. 


*»;f5M5?5?W"*i;'At'ac-:vftife'i*')«i/¥fca;;j;«W-",iK'JS«P 


■']^^i 


THE   ISLES  OF  SHOALS. 


181 


tlif  ixTiLiious  views  of  tlio  settlers  east  of  tlie  Merriinac.  Our  forefatlicrs,  say 
tln\.  ili<l  not  come  to  the  New  \\'(ii"l(l  lor  religious  liberty,  but  to  lisli  and 
ti;i'lc. 

.Morton's  offense  is  stated  by  (Joveruor  IJradford,  in  Ins  letters  to  the 
Ciimi'il  ibi'  New  Knglaiid  and  to  Sir  F.  Gorges,  to  have  been  the  selling  of 
arm-  and  ainniunition  to  the  Indians  in  such  (luantities  as  to  endanger  the 
siill'ty  of  the  infant  jtlantations.  lie  was  arrested,  and  his  association  of  Mer- 
rv  Mount  broken  up,  after  repi'ated  and  Iriendly  efforts  to  dissuade  him  from 
this  course  lia<l  been  met  with  insolence  and  bravado.  Il  stands  thus  in  Gov- 
eiiior  r>ra(Ubrd's  letter-book: 

"7b  f/ic  Ilonountble  his  Jfijcsfi/tf  Ctnnicilfor  Xew  JiJ/if/lafid,  t/icse,  Iii[/ht 
JToNouniMc  and  our  veri/  (jood  Lords: 

"N'eressity  liath  forced  us,  his  iMajesty's  subjects  of  New  P]ngland  in  gen- 
eral (after  long  patience),  to  take  this  course  with  this  ti'oublesome  planter, 
Mr.  'I'houias  3Iorton,  whom  we  have  sent  unto  y(uir  honours  that  you  may  be 
lik'HM'd  to  take  that  course  with  him  which  to  your  honourabh'  wisdom  shall 
S'.'i'in  lit  ;  wiio  hath  been  often  ailmouislie(l  not  to  trade  or  truck  with  the  In- 
(liaiis  cither  pieces,  powder,  or  shot,  which  yet  he  hath  done,  and  duly  nnikes 
IHovisiou  to  do,  and  could  not  be  restrained,  taking  it  in  high  scorn  (as  he 
s[ieaks)  that  any  here  should  controul  thei'ein.  Now  the  general  weakness  of 
IIS  his  .Majesty's  subjects,  the  strength  of  the  Indians,  and  at  this  time  their 
«ficat  preparations  to  do  some  affront  ui»on  us,  and  the  evil  e\am])le  which  it 
nivfs  unto  olhers,  and  having  no  sultordie.ate  general  government  umler  your 
limieurs  in  this  land  to  restrain  such  misdemeanours,  eauseth  us  to  be  trouble- 
sume  to  yuur  Lordshijjs  to  send  this  party  unto  you  for  remedy  and  redress 
iiorcof." 

'flic  letter  to  Sir  F.  Gorges'  Is  in  greater  detail,  but  its  length  prevents  its 
iiiscrlion  with  the  foregoing  extract.  The  Governor  t)f  New  Plymouth  makes 
a  >iinihir  allegation  with  regard  to  the  fishing  ships.  It  is  noticeable  that  all 
the  plantations  took  part  in  this  affair,  Piscatacimi,  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  Edward 
lliltnn,  and  others  paying  their  proportion  of  the  expense  of  sending  Morton 
out  ol'  the  country. 

.Morton's  offense,  therefore,  was  jiolitical  and  not  religious,  and  his  extradi- 
tion a  measure  of  self-preser\ation,  an  inexorable  law  in  Ui'JS  to  that  handful 
of  settlers.  Il"  at  the  end  of  marly  two  eeii'.nries  and  a  half,  the  Govermnent 
these  Pilgrims  contributed  to  found  deemed  it  necessary  t(t  the  ])ublic  safety 
to  banish  individuals  fi'om  its  boi-ilers,  Iiow,  then,  nniy  we  ch.allenge  this  act 
ol' Il  ['v\y  nu'U  who  dwelt,  in  a  wilderness,  and  \vorshii»ed  their  God  with  the 
l>ililc  in  one  hand  and  a  musket  in  the  other? 


'  Sue  "  Mussac'lnscUs  Historiciil  Collections,"  vol.  iii.,  ji.  (i;5. 


I  lV«^l)&Al^.1^kUil;>'l^^U,a'^CIU14Lv^«rU!£|l.'IKll«:)C«U&.t41f>^J^.'jfijlU 


182 


TllK  NEW  ENGLAND   COAST. 


^lorton  (U'ficd  the  pi-oc'lainatiou  of  the  kiii^'  ]ir(nniil^at('<l  in  1022,  saviii'^ 
tluTc  was  lu)  pfiialty  attaclifd  to  it.  Its  tiTiiis  iorl)a<lo  "  any  to  trade  to  the 
jiortion  of  Aiiiericji  calU'tl  New  Kiiiilaml,  beinj^  llic  whole  breadth  ot'tlie  lainl 
lu'twicii  forty  and  forty-eiuiit  deu;i'ees  of  north  latitude,  exeeptinii;  those  <<[' 
\\\v  N'ir^iiiia  Coniicmy,  tlu'  |ilaiitation  liavinj^  been  tnueh  injured  by  iniciio. 
pers,  wiio  have  injured  tlie  woods,  (huuaned  the  harbors,  trattieked  with  ihc 
suvaLi'es,  and  even  sold  theni  weapor.s,  and  tauj^'ht  them  the  use  thereol'.'"' 

Of  the  ."Nlay-jjole,  which  the  rili;rinis  re;j,arded  with  trrini  diseoutnit, 
Stubbes  liives  tlie  tiianner  in  England  of  Ininginu;  it  home  from  the  wooils. 

"But,"  he  says,  "  their  eheefest  Jewell  they  bring  liome  with  greate  vciut- 
ation,  as  thus:  they  liave  twentie  ov  fourtie  yoke  of  oxen,  every  oxe  liav- 
yiig  a  sweete  nosegaie  of  flowers  tyed  on  the  tippe  of  his  hornes,  and  tliise 
oxen  drawe  hojne  this  3Iaie-poole,  which  is  covcixmI  all  over  with  flowers  ainl 
liearbes,  bounde  rounde  abouti'  with  string(s  from  the  top  to  the  bollninc, 
and  sometyme  ])aiiited  with  varial)le  colours,  with  two  or  three  Imndreil  iiicii, 
women,  .nnd  children  followyng  it  with  gri'at  devotion.  And  thus  beviii:;- 
leared  up  with  handkercheifcs  and  tiagges  streainyng  on  the  tojjpe,  llicy 
strawo  the  grounde  aboute,  Iiiii<le  green  bonghes  aVtout  it,  sett  up  Sonnnrr 
liaules,  Dowers,  ami  iVrboiirs  hanl  by.  And  then  i'all  they  to  bampiet  and 
feast,  to  leape  and  dance  aboute  it,  as  the  Heathen  people  did  at  the  deilioa- 
tioii  of  their  idolles,  whereof  this  is  a  ]terfect  patterne,  t>r  rather  the  thyii^e 
itself." 


sMLTTY    NOSE 


Smutty  Nose,  the  most  verdant  of  the  islands,  was  one  of  the  earliest  set- 
tled. The  stranger  foi-  the  hist  time  I'eels  somethinu'  like  soil  beneath  lii^ 
feet.     There   is   a    wharf  and    a    little   landing-phiee,   wlii're   a    boat   ma}    ht' 


I'iiii>h  Slate  I'iijjers,  C'alemlais. 


.'■^J 


TllK  ISLKS  OF  SHOALS. 


183 


111  ;i(lii'(l.  When  within  Haley's  liltlo  cove,  I  looked  down  into  the  water, 
,111. 1  saw  the  jtereli  (cnnners)  swinuiiiiii::  lazily  ahoul.  This  was  the  only 
|il;i-i'  where  tlie  old-time  industry  of  tiie  isles  showed  even  a  tlake,  so  to 
siii.ik.  of  its  former  greatness.  There  were  a  few  men  enua'jfed  in  dryinir 
tluir  tisii  near  tlie  landini;.  Clear  weather  with  westerly  winds  is  hest  for 
tlii>  piirjiose;  didl  or  ioytjy  weather  si)oils  the  tisli. 


At 


a  liltle  ( 


i>taMee,  shorn  of  some  of  its  Ibrmer  adornments,  is  the  home^ 


sti'inl  (if  Saniiicl  liah'V,  wiio  with  iiis  two  ^(Mis  and  their  families  occuiuefl  the 

Not  tar  off  is  the  little   family   <ira\ c-vard  of  the 


bland   many   years  a<jt). 


llalcvs,  with  tlie  iialin'j:s  faliini;-  in  decay,  and  the  mounds  oviTurown  with  a 


;iii''le  (It   ran 


k   - 


rass. 


At    one  time,  by  liis  eueriiv,  ]\Ir.  TIaley  had  made  of 


Ins  isliind  a  siMi-sustannn;^  |iossessi 
wiiiclinill.  salt-works,  and  iM|ie 
i"s  ami  cooper's  shops  suc( 


Wl'l 


o;i.      Uelbre  the  IJi'Volution  he  had  Iniilt  a 

blaek- 


^Inil  I 


a  liakehouse,  bi-ewiTV,  distillery 
eeilfd  in  the  lirst  year  of  j)i>ace — all  L;'(>inu'  lo 


i\vv:w  w 


man,  au( 


ithin  his  lifetime.      iJy  all  report   ofhini.l 


le  was 


a  o'ood  and  humane 


1  I 


liereliv  set  up  his  pi-ostrate  u'rave-stoni'  on  my  pa;j,e 


"IN  MEMORY   OF  MR.  SAMfl-J.  IIALLV 
Wlio  died  in  llic  year   iSii 

lie  was  a  man  of  great  Ingenuity 

Industiy  lienor  and  Honesty,  true  to  liis 

Country  &  A  man  who  did  A  great 

l'nl)lic  good  in  lUiilding  A 

Dock  &   Receiving  into  his 


Knci( 


isure  many  a  jKior 


Distressed  Seaman  &  Fisherman 
In  distress  of  Weather." 


II  11  nil ITir  4M  ^'iX£U«a»i<rV. 


184 


Tin-:   NKW  KNULANU  COAST. 


A  few  stops  f:irlli('r  on  arc  tlio  tijravcs  of  iourtocii  sliijiwreckotl  marimrs, 
markotl  hy  rii<le  i)()iiI(K'rs.  Il  is  I'litcrcil  in  tin-  <Jos|i()rt  records:  "  lHl\i,./>ii,. 
14^A,  sliij)  SiKjiiiiti)  straiuk'd  on  Sniully  N'ose  Isl',';  ,/an.  l.")/A,  out'  njiui  tbinul; 
lG^/*,si.\  men  lound  ;  iil.sif,  scvon  men  Ibnnd."  'i'lie  reeoid  snms  up  thu  miin- 
ber  as  twelve  Ixxlies  i'ouiitl,  wliereas  the  total  appi'ais  to  be  Ibiirteen. 

Allhongli  tlie  shi|»  Sdfjii/ito  was  nol  stranded  on  Smutty  Nose  Isle,  tlic 
wreek  of  a  ship,  either  SMunish  or  l'nitu<;uese,  with  all  on  board,  remains  a 
teri'ilde  fact  but  too  well  attestetl  by  these  gi'aves.'  The  liorror  of  the  event 
is  deepenetl  and  streui^tliened  by  the  simph;  word  "Unknown."  When  ihi< 
ship  crashed  and  lilled  and  went  down,  the  /Sufjuuto  was  lying, after  a  teriiiik> 
bulfeting,  within  a  sale  harbor. 

It  was  in  a  blinding  snow-storm,  and  a  gale  that  strewed  the  shore  IVom 
the  I'euobseot  to  Ilatleras  with  wrecks,  that  a  ship  built  of  cedar  and  ma- 
hogany was  thrown  on  these  rocks.  Xot  a  living  send  was  left  to  tell  ilic 
tale  o*'  that  bitter  January  lught.  The  ill-l'atiMl  vessel  wns  richly  laden,  im 
donli,ibr  boxes  of  raisins  and  almonds  from  ^lalaga  drifted  on  shore  the  nc\i 
morning.  On  u  piece  of  the  wrei-k  thai  came  in  a  silver  watch  of  Kii'4ii>li 
make  was  found,  with  the  lettei's  "I*.  S,"  graven  on  the  seals;  ami  aiudug  the 
debris  was  a  Spanish  and  jiart  of  an  American  ensign,  Ibr  it  was  war-time  tln'ii 
between  Enii'land  and  the  American  States.  The  watch  had  stoj)ped  at  ex- 
actly lour  o'clock,  or  when  time  ceased  ibr  tliose  liapless  Spaniards.  Tin'iv 
were  aNo  found  some  twenty  letters,  addressed  soutli  of  New  Vork.  C'oiijui'- 
ture  sai  I  it  was  a  Spaiush  ship  from  t'adiz,  bound  Ibr  riiilaileliihia. 

Till'-  is  the  story  of  this  little  clump  of  graves,  and  of  the  wreck,  to  tlii-; 
day  unknown.  It  has  been  told  many  times  in  prose  and  poetry,  but  not  nti 
en  trrdy,  Samuel  Haley  liad  been  quietly  lying  in  his  grave  two  years,  'flic 
reader  may  or  mav'  not  believe  he  tbiiiid  the  frozen  bodies  of  some  of  the  ricu 
next  morr.ing  reclining  on  his  wall.  Here  is  a  wild  flower  of  island  giuwlli, 
of  a  handful  cast  upon  these  fading  mounds: 

"O  sailors,  did  sweet  eves  look  nfter  you 

Tlic  iliiy  yoii  sailed  away  from  sunny  Spain? 
Briglit  eyes  that  followed  fadiiig  sliij)  and  crew, 
Melting  in  tender  rain?" 

I  wondered  that  tliese  fourteen  the  old  sea  liad  strangled  and  fliiiii'  ui' 
here  could  rest  so  peacefully  in  ground  unblessed  by  Holy  Church,  Per- 
chance the  spot  has  witnessed  tnidiiight  mass,  with  incense  and  with  missal: 
no  doubt  beads  iiave  been  told,  and  w  jnilcv  and  arc  said  by  pious  pilgrims, 


'  Sj)anisli  sliip  5fr//««/o,  rarrorn,  seven ty-tln-ee  days  fioin  Cadiz  for  New  York,  arrived  at  New- 
port on  Monday,  .January  lltli,  out  of  |.iovisions  and  water,  and  the  crew  frost- hi  I  ten.  C.ir;.'!!. 
wine,  raisins,  and  salt.  Saw  no  Knylish  truisers,  and  spoke  only  one  vessel,  a  Baltimore  pinii- 
Jeer.  —  Columbian  Centtnel,  January  Kith,  18i;i. 


iif^:f^ 


Tllli  ISLES  OF  SHOALS. 


185 


It  is  not  pleasant  to  think  that  the  ishinil  has  become  more  widely  known 
throiiu'li  iIk'  inetliiiiM  of  an  atioiioiis  iiiiinK'r  cominitted  lu-re  in  March,  1873. 


Fol'IIHI 


Iv  the  islanders  dated  iVom  some  well-remendKTed  wreck:  now  it  is 


bc'i'iiii'  111"  since  the  murder  on  Sniiitt y  Xose  they  reckon. 

Oil  the  morning  of  Marc! i  Ulii  the  Norwegian  wiio  lives  o|ti>osite  Star  Isl- 
and, on  Appledore,  heard  a  cry  lor  help.  (JoiiiL;'  to  the  shore,  he  saw  a  wom- 
iiii  standinu;  on  tlie  rocks  of  .Malaya  in  her  ni;j;ht-dress.  lie  crossed  over  and 
hiDii-lii  llie  poor  creature  to  his  cottai^'e,  when  it  appeared  that  her  feet  were 
fnizcii.    She  was  half  dead  with  I'right  and  exposure,  hut  told  her  tale  as  soon 


abk 


as  slic  was 

Juiin  Ilontvet,  a  fisherman,  occupied  one  of  the  three  houses  on  Smutty 
Xosi",  the  tlurd  counting  from  the  little  cove,  as  you  look  at  it  I'rom  Star  Isl- 
and.  On  tiie  night  of  tlie  otli  of  March  he  was  at  Portsmouth,  leaving  three 
womou — ^Miiry,  his  wife;  Annelhe  and  Fvai'cn  Chrislensen — at  home.  Tliey 
Weill  to  lied  as  usual,  .Vmiethe  with  .Mrs.  Ilontvet  in  the  bedroom;  Karen  on 
a  I'liinh  in  the  kitciien.  It  was  a  line  moonlight  night,  though  cold,  and 
there  was  snow  on  llie  ground. 

Some  lime  during  the  night  a  man  entered  the  house,  it  is  supposed  for 
tiio  |)iu|i(>se  of  robbery.  lie  fastened  the  door  between  the  kitchen,  which  he 
first  entered,  and  the  bedroom,  tiius  isolating  the  sleeping  women.  Karen, 
liavin^i'  awoke,  cried  out,  when  she  was  attacked  by  the  intruder  with  u  chair. 
The  niiise  having  aroused  the  two  women  in  tiie  bedroom,  Mary  Ilontvet 
jiiiniK'(l  out  of  bed,  forced  open  the  door  leading  into  the  kitchen,  and  suc- 
ci'idcd  in  <>;etting  hold  of  the  wounded  iiirl.  Karen,  whom  she  drew  within 
]wv  own  chamber.  All  this  took  place  in  the  dark.  ]\[ary  then  bade  Annethe, 
her  brother's  wife,  to  jumj)  out  of  the  window,  and  she  did  so,  l)ut  was  too 
iiuich  lerrilled  to  go  beyond  the  corner  of  the  house.  ^lary,  meanwhile,  was 
liolilinjj,'  llie  door  of  the  kitchen  against  the  attempts  of  their  assailant  to  force 
it  open.  Foiled  here,  the  villain  left  the  house,  and  meeting  the  yotuig  wife, 
Annetlif,  was  seen  by  Mary,  in  the  clear  moonlight,  to  deal  her  three  tei'rible 
blows  with  an  axe.  IJut  before  she  was  struck  down  the  girl  had  recognized 
her  nmrderer,  and  shrieked  out,  "  Louis,  Louis  !" 

Afier  this  accursed  deed  the  man  went  back  to  the  lioiise,  and  !Mary  also 
inadr  her  es'/ape  by  the  window.  Karen  was  too  badly  hurt  to  follow.  The 
ilcar-gi'il  X.irwegian  woman  ran  fii'st  to  the  dock,  but  tiiiding  no  boat  there, 
hid  licrseir  among  the  rocks.  She  durst  not  shout,  for  fear  the  sound  of  her 
vnicc  wouhl  liring  the  murdevi-r  to  the  sjiot.  There  she  remained,  like  anoth- 
li'  r>(  ily  Moody,  until  sunrie,  when  she  took  courage  and  went  across  the 
sca-wal!  to  ^lalaga  and  was  rescuetl.  1  was  told  that  when  she  Hed,  with 
rare  pres(";ce  of  mind,  she  took  her  little  dog  under  her  ai'm,  for  fear  it  might 
I'.rove  JRM-  destructio;). 

It  resulted  that  Loins  Wagner,  a  Prussian,  was  arrested,  tried  for  the  mur- 
ilor,  and  condemned  as  guilty.     The  fatal  recognition  by  xVnnelhe,  the  figure 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


fi; 


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186 


THE  KEW  p:ngland  coast. 


seen  with  uplifted  axo  tluougli  the  window  by  Mary,  and  the  prisoncr'h  ab- 
sence IVoni  Ills  lodgings  on  the  niyht  of  the  murder,  pointed  inl'allibly  to  liim 
as  the  chief  actor  in  this  night  of  horrors.  To  have  committed  this  crime  )k' 
niiisl  have  rowed  IVom  Portsmouth  to  the  Ishinds  and  back  again  on  tlie  niL;lit 
in  question;  no  great  feat  ior  one  of  those  hardy  ishuiders,  and  Wairiiei'  was 
noted  for  muscuhir  strength.  It  is  said  he  was  of  a  churlish  disposition,  and 
would  seklom  sj)eak  unless  addressed,  when  he  would  answer  shortly.  IK' 
was  i.ot  considered  a  bad  fellow,  but  a  poor  companion. 

I  went  to  the  liouse.  lielic-hunters  had  left  it  in  a  sorry  plight ;  takin<r 
away  even  the  sashes  of  the  windows,  shelves,  and  every  thing  movable.  Kveii 
the  paper  had  been  torn  irom  the  walls,  and  carried  off  for  its  blood-stains. 
Ilontvet  described,  witli  the  ])hlegin  of  his  race,  the  appearance  of  the  house 
on  the  morning  of  the  tragedy:  "Karen  laydere;  Annethe  lay  here,"  he  said. 
1  saw  they  were  preparing  to  nnike  it  habitable  again:  better  burn  it,  say  I. 

We  liad  a  sun-dog  at  evening  and  a  raiidtow  in  the  morning,  fidl-arciied, 
and  rising  out  of  the  sea,  a  sure  foreriuuier,  say  veteran  observers,  oi'  foul 
weather.     Says  the  quatrain  of  tlie  ibrecastle  : 

Ixiiiiliow  in  tlio  inoriiing, 
Sailors  take  warning; 
]{ainl)()\v  at  niglit. 
Is  the  sailor's  deli  •'lit." 


LEUUl^  OF   UOC1V.S,  SMLTTY    NO.sE. 

I  spent  a  qnlet,  breezy  afternoon  in  exploring  Appledore.  The  hnidiiisl 
iV'tm  the  harbor  side  has  to  be  made  in  some  cleft  of  the  rock,  and  is  not  prac- 
ticable when  there  is  a  sea  running.  I'assing  by  the  cottage  at  the  shore.  I 
tirst  went  up  the  rocky  declivity  to  the  site  of  the  abandoned  settlemeiit  ot 
so  long  ngo.  It  niav  still  be  reooirnized  bv  the  cellars,  rouLfh  stone  w.all>.  and 
fragments  of  bricks  lying  scattered  nbont.  Thistles,  raspberry-bushes,  ami 
dwarf  cherry-trees  in  fragrant  bloom,  were  growing  in  the  depressions  wliicli 


to  doii 

;iftcr 

ilatii' 

doiv' 

doncd 

of  the 

Slarl 

livcii 

COllIl]  ■ 

Icrscc 
ahly  1 
liad  111 
u-illi 

out    SOI 

can  si'  1 
iiiits  \\ 


Ti)niil^i 
•'il  to  in 
"Oiueii 


ivy, 
liciv. 


THE  ISLES  OF   SHOALS.  187 

kcd  these  broken   heartli-stones  of  a  forsfotten   people.      The  poisonous 


(III 


Sll 


s(Mueliines  called    nieicnry,  so  often   found   clinyiiig   to  old   walls,  was 

Some  country- folk  pretend  its  potency  is  such  that  they  who  look 

it  arc  inoculated  with  the  poison;  a  scratch,  as  I  know  to  my  cost,  will 

ttice. 

Ill  re  was  a  strip  of  green  grass  running  along  the  liarbor  side,  and,  for  tiie 
tii>t  lime,  the  semblance  of  a  road;  I  followed  it  until  it  lost  itself  among 
thf  rocks.  A  horse  and  a  yoke  of  oxen  were  browsing  by  the  way,  and  on 
;i  distant  snelf  of 
rock  I  saw  a  cow, 
iiiiich  exaggera- 
tcil  in  size,  con- 
tentedly rumina- 
tive, (.'lumps  of 
liuckli'bcrrv  and 
t'lT.craiit  bayber- 
ry  were  frefpient, 
wilh  hl;ickl)eri'y 
and  other  vines 
chistcriiig  above 
till'  siui'aco  rocks. 

1  mil  inclined 
to  (Idii'it  whether, 
after  all,  the  hab- 
itation of  A))ple- 
ilore'  was  aban- 
iloiied  on  account 
of  the  Indians,  for 
Star  Island,  as  lias 
lucii  reinai'kcd, 
could  give  no  bel- 
tersecurity.  I'rol)- 
ahly  the  lauding 
liad  much  to  do 
with  it.  AVith- 
eiil  some  moving 
(^luiso  the  inhabit- 


SOLTII  EAST   END   OF   AI'l'MiDOKE,  I.OOKIXti    SOUTH. 


ail 


ts  would  hardly  have  Icl't  A])plcdore  and  its  verdure  for  the  bald  crags  of 


'  Apiilcdovo,  a  stniiU  scii-]iovt  of  EnKlnntl.  roiinty  of  Devon,  imiish  of  Xortliampton,  on  tlio 
I'l'iiil-o,  at  its  nioiuli  in  Hainstahlo  Hav,  two  anil  a  ([uarter  miles  north  of  Bidcford.  It  is  resort- 
I'll  to  in  Slimmer  as  a  batliing-place,  and  has  a  harbor  subordinate  to  the  port  of  Barnstable.— 
''Giizetteer." 


188 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Star  Isliiiicl,  Tiie  choice  of  Applodorc  by  the  first  settlers  was  probably  due 
U)  its  spring"  of  pure  wuter,  tlie  only  one  on  the  islaiicls. 

The  yi'ar  1628  is  the  first  in  which  we  can  locate  actual  settlers  at  llie 
Shoals.  ]Mr.  JeftVoy  and  ]\Ir.  Ihirsleni,  then  assessed  two  pounds  for  tlic  ex- 
penses  of  ^lorton's  att'uir,  are  supposed  to  have  been  living  there.  By  liud 
the  liev.  Mr.  Hull,  of  Aganienlicus,  paid  parocliial  visits  to  the  Isles,  and 
some  time  before  1061,  says  Dr.  ^lorse,  they  had  a  meeting-house  on  Ilo^r 
Island,  though  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England  was  the  first  ijcrfoiin- 
ed  there.  Tiie  three  brothers  Cutt,  of  Wales,  settled  there  about  104.'),  iv- 
moviiig  soon  to  the  main-land,  where  they  became  distinguished.  Antipas 
]\Iaverick  is  mentioned  as  resident  in  1647.  Another  settler  whom  tiie 
ciironicles  do  not  omit  was  William  l*epperell,  of  Cornwall,  England,  father 
of  the  man  of  Louisburg,  wlio  w-as  here  about  1076.  The  removal  <if  the 
brothers  Cutt  witiiin  two  years,  and  of  Pe])perell  and  Gibbons  after  a  luief 
residence,  does  not  confirm  the  view  that  the  islands  at  that  early  day  pos- 
sessed attractions  to  men  of  the  better  class  sometimes  claimed  for  tlicai. 
Pei)perell  and  Gibbons  left  the  choice  of  a  future  residence  to  chance,  with 
an  inditterence  worthy  a  IJedouin  of  the  (ireat  Desert.  Holding  their  slaves 
between  tliumb  and  finger  until  perpendicularly  poised,  they  let  them  fall, 
departing,  the  tradition  avers,  in  the  direction  in  which  each  pointed — Peji- 
perell  to  Kittery,  Gibbons  to  Muscongus. 

The  first  woman  mentioned  who  came  to  reside  at  Hog  Island  was  .Mis. 
John  Reynolds,  an<l  she  came  in  defiance  of  an  act  of  court  i)rohibiting  wmn- 
cn  from  living  on  the  islands.  One  of  the  Cntts,  Kicliard  by  name,  petition- 
ed for  her  removal,  together  with  the  hogs  and  swine  running  at  large  on  the 
i.-land  belonging  to  John  Keynolds.  The  court,  however,  pe/mitted  licr  to 
remain  during  good  behavior.     This  occurred  in  1647.     It  gives  a  glimpse 


DUCK   ISLAND,  FIUIM    M'VIA.lioUL, 


the 


THE   ISLES  OF  SHOALS.. 


189 


of  what  society  must  Litliorto  liave  boeii  on  tlie  islands  to  call  for  such  onact- 
iiiciits.  Xo  wonder  men  of  substance  left  the  worse  than  barren  rocks,  and 
that  riirlit  speedily. 

I  walla'd  around  the  shores  of  Appledore,  stopping  to  exi)lore  the  chasms 
ill  niv  M  ay.  One  of  tliem  I  could  liken  to  nothing  l)ut  a  coftin,  it  seemed  so 
oxiictly  fasiiioned  to  receive  the  hull  of  some  unlucky  slii[).  On  some  of  the 
rocks  1  remarked  impressions,  as  if  made  witli  the  heel  of;i  human  foot.  In^ 
the  olting  Duck  Island  showed  its  jagged  teeth,  around  which  the  tide  swell- 
ed and  broke  until  it  seemed  frothing  at  the  mouth. 

Another  Smith's  monument  is  on  the  highest  part  of  the  island,  all  the 
others  being  within  view  from  it.  It  is  a  rude  cairn  of  rough  stone,  thi'own 
together  with  little  effort  at  regularity.  Tlie  surface  stones  are  overifrow». 
with  lichens,  which  add  to  its  appeai'ance  of  antiquity.  It  is  known  to  have 
stood  here  rather  more  than  a  century,  and  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  Cap- 
tain John  Smith  himself  Howsoever  the  tradition  may  liave  originated,  it  is 
all  we  liave,  and  are  so  fain  to  be  content;  but  I  marvel  that  so  modest  a  man 
us  Captain  John  should  have  said  nothing  about  it  in  the  book  writ  with  his 
own  hand.  I>y  some  the  monument  has  been  believed  to  be  a  beacon  built 
to  mark  the  fishing-grounds. 

Smith  arrived  at  Monhegan  in  April,  1614,  and  was  back  again  at  Plym- 
outh, England,  on  the  5th  of  August.  lie  was  one  of  those  who  came  to 
■'tisli  and  trade,"  seeking  out  the  habitations  of  ihe  Indians  for  his  purpose. 
There  were  no  savages  at  the  Isles.'  Of  his  map  Smith  writes:  "Although 
there  be  many  things  to  be  observed  which  the  haste  of  other  affairs  did 
eaiise  me  to  ojuil,  for  being  sent  more  to  get  present  commodities  than 
knowledge  by  discoveries  for  any  future  good,  I  had  not  jjower  to  search  as 
I  would,"  etc.  I  should  add,  in  passing,  that  Smith,  who  admits  liaving  seen 
the  relation  of  Gosnold,  does  not  allow  him  the  credit  of  the  name  lie  gave  to 
Martha's  Vineyard,  but  speaks  of  it  as  Capawock. 

One  of  the  remarkable  'x'atures  of  Ajjpledore  is  the  valley  issuing  from 
the  cove,  dividing  the  island  in  two.  This  ravine  is  a  real  curiosity,  the  great 
ilepression  occurring  where  t!.e  hotel  buildings  are  situated  affording  a  snug 
cove  on  the  west  of  the  island.  Just  behind  the  house  enough  soil  had  ac- 
cumulated t(j  furnish  a  thriving  and  well-kept  vegetable  garden,  evidently  an 
object  of  solicitude  to  the  proprietors.  From  the  veranda  of  the  hotel  you 
may  see  the  ocean  on  the  east  and  the  bay  on  the  west.  In  INIr.  Hawthorne's 
■account  of  his  visit  here  in  1852,  he  relates  that  in  the  same  storm  that 
overthrew  ^Nlinot's  Light,  a  great  wave  passed  entirely  through  this  valley; 
'"and,"  he  continues,  "Laighton  describes  it  when  it  came  in  from  the  sea 
lis  toppling  over  to  the  height  of  the  cupola  of  his  hotel.  It  roared  and 
whitened  through,  from  sea  to  sea,  twenty  feet  abreast,  rolling  along  huge 


'  Levett  snvs,  "  Upon  these  ishuids  are  no  salvages  at  all." 


190 


THE   KEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


r  >c'ks  in  its  passage.    It  passed  beiicatli 

Ilia  veranda,  wliich  stands  on  posts,  md 
probably  tilled  the  valley  eonipkulv. 
Would  I  had  been  here  to  see  !" 

When  I  came  back  to  the  liarlMir 
side,  botli  wind  and  tide  had  risen.  I 
was  'vi  ried  across  by  a  lad  ol'  not  iikiic 
llian  ten  years.  At  times  llie  suift 
current  got  the  better  and  swi'jit  tlic 
boat  to  leeward,  but  he  stonily  nliisud 
io  give  me  the  oars,  tlie  pride  o\'  an 
islander  being  involved  in  the  maUcT. 
The  little  fellow  Hung  his  woolen  cap 
t  >  the  bottom  of  the  dory,  his  hair  ily- 
ing  loosely  in  the  wind  as  he  bent  td 
his  task.  After  taking  in  more  watur 
than  was  for  our  comfort,  he  was  at 
last  obliged  to  acce])t  my  aid.  Tln'sc 
islanders  are  amphibious,  brought  up 
witli  "one  foot  on  sea,  one  loot  on 
shore."  I  doubt  if  half  their  lives  arc- 
passed  on  terra ^p'riiK!, 

Duck  Island  is  for  the  sportsman, 
He  will  find  there  in  proper  season  tlic 
canvas-back,  mallard,  teal,  white-win;;- 
ed  coot,  sheldrake,  etc.  Few  land,  ex- 
cept gunners  in  pursuit  of  sea-fowl.  I 
contented  myself  with  sailimr  alons"'  its 
shores,  watching  the  play  of  the  surf  and  tlie  gambols  of  a  colony  of  small 
sea-gulls  that  seemed  in  peaceable  possession.  Duck  Island  proper  has  a 
cluster  of  wicked-looking  ledges  encircling  it  from  sout!i-west  to  south-east. 
The  mariner  should  give  it  a  wide  berth.  Its  ill-shapen  rocks  project  on  ;ill 
sides,  and  a  reef  makes  out  half  a  mile  into  the  sea  from  the  noi'th-west. 
Shag  and  Mingo  are  two  of  its  satellites.  This  island  was  ivsorted  ttt  liy  iIk' 
Indians  for  the  seals  fivquentiug  it. 

I  had  observe(l  lying  above  the  landing  on  Star  Island  a  qneer-Iodkiii:;' 
craft,  which  might  with  great  propriety  be  called  a  sliell.  It  consistid  ut'a 
frame  of  slats  neatly  fitted  together,  over  which  a  covering  of  tarred  canvas 
Inid  been  strf'tched.  I  at  first  thought  some  Kanaka's  canoe  had  found  its 
way  through  the  North-w'cst  Passage,  and  drifted  in  hero;  but  ^fr.  Poor  as- 
sui'ed  me  it  belonged  on  the  islands,  and  was  owned  and  sjiiled  by  Tom  bcliii, 
whose  dwelling  on  Londoner's  he  pointed  out.  As  Tom  Leha  was  the  C'eltic 
skipper  of  the    Creed,  I  had   some  speech  of  him.     His  boat,  he  said,  was 


LAIGirrON  S  OUAVE. 


THE   ISLKS   OF   SHOALS. 


lUl 


siicli  as  is  ustnl  in  the  Shannon,  Avliere  it  is  called  the  "saint's  canoo,"  bo- 
catisc  lirst  used  by  one  of  the  Irish  saints.  It  was  :.  j^ood  suri-boat,  light  as 
a  cork,  and  as  buoyant. 

One  ninht  Leha,  with  Ids  wife  and  tliree  children,  arrived  at  the  Shoals  in 
his  caiiix",  which  a  stroni;  man  niioht  easily  cany.  No  one  knew  whence 
they  ("Uiie.  Their  speech  was  unintclligil>le.  There  they  were,  and  there 
they  seemed  inclined  to  remain.  Your  bona  fide  Shoaler  likes  not  intruders. 
The  islanders  gave  Leha  and  his  a  coiil  welcome,  but  this  did  not  discompose 
him.  lie  was  iaithful  and  industrious,  and  in  time  saved  money  enough  to 
buy  Londoner's.     He  waved  Ins  hand  toward  his  island  home,  as  if  to  say, 

"An  ill-favored  tiling,  sir,  i)ut  mine  own." 

As  seen  from  Star  Island,  Londoner's  shows  two  nigged  knobs  connected 
by  a  narrower  strip  of  shingle.     It  has  its  cove,  and  a  reasonably  good  land- 


LONDONElt'S,  FUOM   STAI{  ISI.ANU 

\w'^.  llalf-way  between  it  and  Star  are  hidden  rocks  over  which  the  sea 
bivaks.     It  was  not  occu})ied  by  its  owner  when  I  was  there. 

It  was  a  lovely  morning  when  I  rowed  over  to  White  Island.  Once  clear 
(if  till'  liai'lior,  I  found  outside  what  sailors  call  "an  old  sea,"  the  relics  of 
the  late  northeaster.  IJut  these  wherries  will  live  in  any  s<'a  that  runs  on 
the  New  England  coast.  I  have  heard  of  the  liank  fishermen  being  out  in 
them  for  days  together  when  their  vessel  could  )U)t  lie  at  anchor  in  the  tre- 
mendous swell. 

White  Island  is  now  the  most  picturesque  of  the  grjup,  a  distinction  once 
t'oiiccded  to  Star.  It  owes  this  preference  to  its  light-house,  standing  on  a 
t'litf  at  the  east  head  of  the  isle,  that  rises  fidl  fift;;  feet  out  of  water;  at  least 
it  scorned  so  hi<;h  to  me  as  I  lay  underneath  it  in  my  little  boat  at  low  tide. 
Against  lliis  clirt'the  waves  continually  swelled,  '•iishing  into  craiiiues,  where 


192 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


I  could  licar  tlicin  giirgliiii;  ami  sonj^liinuf  as  if  some  monster  were  choklu"  to 
«k'alli  ill  tlieir  deptlis. 

Tills  is  not  so  ibrbiddinijf  as  TJoon  Island,  but  it  is  cnoufrli.  Tlie  lii^lit- 
liouse  was  of  brick,  as  I  coulil  see  wliere  the  weather  had  worn  oft*  last  yiar's 
coat  of  whitewash.  It  was  not  yet  time  for  the  tender  to  come  and  biloiitin 
it  up  aL>;aiii.  The  long  gallery  eondiieting  from  the  keeper's  eoltaLze  up  ti» 
the  tower  was  once  torn  away  from  its  fastenings,  and  hurled  into  the  ilccp 
gorge  of  the  roeks  whleh  it  spans.  I  saw  nothing  to  hinder  if  the  Athinlic 
had  a  mind  again  to  play  at  bowls  with  It. 

The  island  owes  its  name  to  the  blanehed  ajipearance  of  its  erngs,  little 
different  in  this  respect  from  its  fellows.  At  high  tides  the  westward  end  is 
isolated  from  the  rest,  making  two  islands  of  It  in  appearance,  but  inseparalilu 
as  the  Siamese  twins.  The  llghtdiouse  is  much  visited  in  summer,  espcci;illy 
by  those  of  a  rojnantlo  turn,  and  by  those  to  whom  its  winding  stairs,  huge 
tanks  of  oil,  and  powerful  Fresnel,  possess  the  charm  of  novelty.  IJy  its  side 
is  the  section  of  an  earlier  Ijuildlng,  a  reminiscence  of  the  former  state  of  the 
Isles.  For  many  years  the  kee])er  of  the  liglit  was  Thomas  B.  l^algln  )u,  af- 
terward proprietor  of  Appledore.  On  account  of  some  jiolitical  disappoint- 
ment, he  removed  from  I'ortsmouth  to  the  Isles,  nniking,  it  is  said,  a  vow 
never  again  to  set  foot  on  the  main-land.  Fortmie  followed  the  would -he 
recluse  against  his  will.  As  kee])er  of  a  boarding-h'^  ^u  Appledore,  ho  is 
reported  to  have  expressed  little  pleasure  at  the  coming  .  "*  'sitors,  even  wlillo 
receiving  them  with  due  hospitality.  He  was  glad  of  cc 'genial  spirits,  1)iit 
loved  not  overmuch  the  stranger  within  his  gates.  Ills  sons  succeeded  to 
their  father  at  the  Appledore.  Ilis  daughter'  lias  told  with  charming  naivete 
the  story  of  the  lightdiouse,  whose  lamps  she  often  trimmed  and  lighted  with 
lier  own  hands. 

"I  lit  the  himps  in  tlio  liglit-house  tower, 

For  the  siin  dropiied  down  and  the  day  was  dead; 
They  shone  like  a  glorious  cliistcicd  flower, 
Two  golden  and  five  red." 

In  1793  there  were  only  eight  light-houses  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. Of  these  one  was  at  the  entiance  of  Xantucket,  and  aiuither 
of  Boston  harbor.  There  were  twin  lights  on  the  north  point  of  riyni()iit!i 
harbor,  on  Thatcher's  Island,  oft' Cape  Ann,  and  at  the  northerly^  end  ot"  Plum 
Island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  ^lerrimac.  The  latter  were  not  erected  until  1787. 
They  were  of  wood,  so  contrived  as  to  be  removed  at  pleasure,  in  order  to 
conform  to  the  shifting  of  the  sand-bar  on  which  they  stood.  The  UliIiIs  on 
Baker's  Island,  at  the  entrance  of  the  port  of  Salem,  were  not  built  until  1  "OH. 

But  neither  compass,  sextant,  fixed  and  revolving  lights,  storm  signals, 
careful  soundings,  buoys,  nor  beacons,  witli  all  the  improvements  in  nio'leni 


•  Mrs.  Celiii  Lnighton  Thaxter. 


THK   ISLKS  OF   SIIUALS. 


193 


iiig  to 

liglit- 
your's 

Ujl    ti) 
II'  (lr('l» 

Ulaiiliu 

;s,  little 
I  ciid  is 
•piuulile 
;jn'ci;\lly 
irs,  lui;j;e 
'  lis  side 
to  of  the 
;ln  »ii,  n.f- 
iappoiut- 
il,  !i  vow 
rt-()uM-l>e 
ore,  lie  is 
vtMi  wliile 
'I'its,  1)111 
mknl  to 

ted  witli 


11  of  ^las- 

iUKltlu'l' 

'lyiiK'Uth 
,.i'  riiim 

utii  ns'- 

Older  to 

lio-lils  on 

,utill79B. 

il  si u' Hills 


In  1110 


leni 


COVEUEI)   WAY    ANI)   LUiUT-HolSE,  WHITE    ISKAM). 

ship-l)uil(linrj,  liave  yot  reduccfl  traveliiiGf  over  tlio  sea  to  the  same  certainty 
as  triiveliinj  over  tlie  land.  Wc  commit  oursolvos  to  tlie  TiitM'cy  of  Father 
Xeptiiiie  just  as  fearfully  as  ever,  and  annually  pay  a  costly  tribute  of  lives  tor 
the  piivileofe  of  traversing  his  dominions. 

Diiriiiix  the  winter  of  18 — ,  so  runs  the  story,  the  keeper  of  this  light  was 
a  yomig  islander,  with  a  single  assistant.  For  nearly  a  week  north-easterly 
winds  had  prevailed,  bringing  in  from  the  sea  a  cold,  impenetrable  haze,  that 
enveloped  the  islands,  and  rendered  it  impossible  to  discern  objects  within  a 
cahle's  length  of  the  light-house.  At  the  turn  of  the  tide  on  the  sixth  day, 
tlie  expected  storm  burst  upon  them  with  inconceival)le  fury.  The  sea  grew 
hlaeker  beneath  the  dead  while  of  tlu;  falling  snow.  The  waves,  urged  on 
Ity  the  gale,  made  a  fair  breach  over  the  light-house  rock,  driving  the  keeper 
from  his  little  dwelling  to  the  tower  for  shelter. 

The  violence  of  the  gale  increased  until  midnight,  when  it  began  to  lull. 

13 


104 


THE  NEW  ENGLAN'I)  COAST. 


Tlio  spirits  of  the  opiji-cssed  watcIitTS  rose  as  tlio  storm  abated.  One  iii.uii' 
ready  a  smokiiii;  platter  of  lisli  and  potatoes,  wliile  the  oilier  prepared  tu 
siiateli  a  few  riiomeuts'  sleep.  While  thus  oeeupied,  a  loud  knoek  was  lunrd 
ut  the  door.  It  was  repeated.  The  two  men  stood  rooted  to  the  spt)t.  'fhcv 
knew  no  livintj  thinji;  exeept  themselves  was  on  the  island;  they  knew  imili- 
ill!.;  of  mortal  shape  mij^ht  approach  it  in  siieh  a  fearful  tempest.  At  a  third 
knoek  the  assistant,  who  was  prepariiMj;  tluir  fruual  meal,  fell  upon  his  kiiet-s, 
making  the  si^'n  of  the  cross,  and  calling  upon  all  the  saints  in  the  eaKiidar 
for  protection,  like  the  good  Catholic  he  was. 

Tiie  keeper,  who  had  time  to  recollect  himself,  advanced  to  the  door  ainl 
tlircw  it  open.  On  the  outside  stood  a  gigantic  negro,  of  muscular  iV.iiiic, 
clothed  in  a  i'ew  rags,  the  blood  streaming  I'roin  twenty  gashes  in  his  ImkK- 
and  limbs.  A  brig  had  been  cast  away  on  the  rocks  a  few  rods  distant  fmin 
the  light,  aiid  the  iiitrei>id  black  had  ventured  to  attempt  to  gain  tlir  li;4lii- 
housi". 

The  keeper  ran  to  the  spot.  TVering  into  the  <hukiiess,  he  could  discover 
the  position  of  the  vessel  only  by  the  flapping  ol"  her  torn  sails  in  the  wind. 
Tiie  roar  of  the  sea  drowned  every  other  sound.  If  the  shipwrecked  cicv 
had  cried  for  help,  they  could  not  have  been  heard,  .\vailing  himselt  <.;'|iis 
knowledge  of  every  incli  of  the  shore,  the  keeper  succeedi'd  in  gaining  a  pid- 
jecting  ledge,  from  which  he  attracted  the  attention  of  those  on  boiird  the 
brig,  and  after  many  fruitless  efforts  a  line  was  got  to  land.  The  wreck,  as 
the  keeper  could  now  see,  was  driven  in  a  little  iiuder  the  shelter  of  a  pKijrct- 
ing  point.  JMoinents  were  ])recious.  lie  sought  in  vain  for  some  jirnjiction 
on  which  he  might  fasten  his  rope.  He  did  not  liesitate,  but  wound  it  about 
his  body,  and  fixed  himself  as  iinnly  as  he  could  in  a  ciovico  of  the  ruck. 
Here,  with  his  feet  planted  on  the  slippery  ledge,  where  every  sea  tliat  (•.iinc 


in  drenched  him  to  the  skiii,  the  brave  fe 
the  crew  had  been  saved. 


low 


stood  fust  until  everv  ii 


;ii  of 


«  IMTi;    ISLAND    I.KillT. 


THE  ISLKS   OF  SHOALS. 


193 


Tlicre  is  iiotliini^  tliat  moves  tho  iinnijiiKitioii  llko  .a  li<j;lit-li(Misc,  Jolni 
(^iiiiicy  A(l;uiis  siiiil  when  lio  saw  oiio  in  tlio  cvt'iiiinj;  lie  was  rciiiiiiiit'd  of  iIk^ 
li.j;lit,  Cnlimihiis  saw  tlio  iiij^ht  lio  discovored  tlio  Nt'w  World.  I  have  been 
inovcil  to  call  them  lek'<>Ta|ili  posts,  standing  aloii;^  the  coast,  each  ll:!shiiiiif 
it>  >-|i:iik  from  cape  to  headland,  the  almost  comininglin;^  rays  l>t:in<jr  tjoltlen 
(linaiN  of  hai)[)y  intelligence  to  all  mai'iners.  What  a  ylorions  vision  it 
would  he  to  see  the  kindlinjj;  of  each  tower  from  Florida  to  Prima  \'ista,  as 
llic  hroatl  streets  of  the  city  are  lii^hted,  lamp  l>y  lamp! 

Here  ended  my  wanderin;4s  among  tlu'sc  islands,  seated  like  immortals  in 
the  mjilsl  of  eternity.  The  strong  sonth-westerly  cnrrcnt  horc  me  swiftly 
from  the  light-house  rock.  ^Ve  hoisted  sail,  and  laid  the  prow  of  onr  little 
li.'irk  for  (he  river's  month;  but  I  leaned  o\er  the  tatlVail  and  looked  buck  at 
till'  heiu.'on-tower  'til  it  faded  and  was  lost. 

"Even  at  this  distiiiH'o  I  cim  soc  tlic  tides, 
riiiii'iiviiij,',  lirciiiv  iiiilii'iir  1  uloii>;  its  li:i>t' ; 
A  s|)i'c'cliloss  wiiitli  tiiiil  ii>i's  mill  siilisidt's 
III  tiiL'  wliite  li|)  and  tiemor  of  tiie  tiice. 

"'Sail  111.  I'  it  snys,  'Sail  mi.  _ve  stately  sliipsl 

Aiiii  with  your  float iiij5  liridf^e  tlie  ocean  span; 
lie  mine  t.)  j^iiiud  this  lii,'lit  IVoni  all  eelipse, 
lie  vonrs  to  briiii'  man  iiearef  unto  luan.'" 


\M;Nr\vuuTii  lioLsii,  i.itti.i;  iiAuuoit. 


ciiAiTEit  xni. 

NKWCASTMC    AXD    XKIfMniOIMIOOn. 

"  Vi's — from  tlie  se|)iik'lire  we'll  giitlit'r  flowfiiJ, 
'J'liiMi  fuiist  like  spirits  in  their  ])r()iiiise(l  bowers, 
'J'lieii  pliinge  and  revel  in  the  rolling  sinf, 
Then  lay  our  limos  ulong  the  tender  tinf." — BvitoN. 

AXOTirEll  (It'liii'litriilly  niiiiouR  oUl  corner  is  Xowcastle,  wliicli  occii|ii('S 
the  iwlaiul  o])j)()site  Kittery  Point,  usually  called  Great  Island.  Hc- 
tween  Xewoastle  and  Kittory  is  the  main  ship-cliannel,  witli  deep  watiT  ami 
l)lenty  of  sea-room.  On  the  south  of  Great  Island  is  another  entrance  calii'il 
Little  Harbor,  Avith  shallow  water  and  sandy  bottom;  its  coinmnnicaticM  witli 
the  main  river  is  now  valueless,  and  little  used  except  by  fishing-craft  orsiiiall 
tonnage. 

In  going  from  Portsmouth  tliere  are  tliree  bridges  to  be  crossed  to  rcacli 
the  town  of  Newcastle,  situated  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  island;  >>r,  if 
your  aim  be  the  southern  shore,  it  is  equally  a  |)leasant  drive  or  walk  to  tlie 
ancient  seat  of  the  AVentworths,  at  Little  Harbor,  from  which  you  m.iv,  it' a 
ferry-man  be  not  at  hand,  hail  the  first  ])assing  boat  to  take  you  to  tlie  isl- 
and. I  went  there  by  the  former  route,  so  as  to  pass  an  hour  among  tlic 
tombstones  in  tlie  old  Point  of  Graves  burial-ground,  and  returned  by  ibc 
latter  in  order  to  visit  the  Wentworth  matision. 

The  three  bridges  before  mentioned  connect  as  many  islands  with  Ports- 
mouth. They  were  built,  it  is  said,  at  the  suggestion  of  President  Moiu'oe, 
when  he  found  Great  Island  somewhat  difficult  of  access. 


NKWCASTLK  AM)   NKKJiIHOIillOOD. 


107 


^^,r 


Thoro  appcart'il  sonio  syinptoins  of  activity  in  tlio  islaiul  fishery.  As  I 
passed  down,  I  noticed  two  Dankers  lyinj^  in  the  diminutive  harbor,  and  an 
•u'lc  or  so  oTground 

upread  with   Hakes,  —  -s^ 

oil    which     co<ltish 
were  l)cin<;  curc<i. 

Tlic  little  cove 
which  makes  the 
harhorof'Neweaslle 
lias  several  wharves, 
some  of  them  in 
ruins,  ami  all  left 
'•hioli  and  clry"  at 
low  tide.  The  rot- 
ting' timbers,  stick- 
iii;4  ill  crevices  of 
the  rocks,  hiinji;  with 
H'a-wei'(l  and  stud- 
ded with  barnacles, 
told  very  plainly 
tliat  the  trade  of  the 
islaiol  was  number- 
ed aiiioiii;'  the  thing's 
of  tlie  past. 

IJetween  the  upper  end  of  (Ireat  Island  and  the  town  of  Portsmouth  is  a 
lii'oad,  deep,  still  basin,  called  in  former  times,  and  yet,  as  I  suspect,  by  some 
lit' the  oldsters,  the  I'ool.  This  was  the  anchorage  of  the  luast  ships,  which 
iM:i(h'  annual  voyages  between  Kngland  and  the  I'iscataqua,  convoyed  in  wav- 
limo  by  a  vessel  of  force.  The  arrival,  lading,  and  departure  of  tlie  mast 
(•lii|is  were  tlie  tliree  events  of  the  year  in  this  old  sea-place.  Sometimes  as 
iiiiniy  as  seven  were  loading  here  at  once,  even  as  early  as  1003.  In  the  Pool, 
the  A.sti'ea,  a  twenty-gun  ship,  was  destroyed  by  fire  one  cold  morning  in 
Jaimary,  1744. 

The  Karl  of  Bellomont,  an  Trisli  jjoer,  writes  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  in 
109!),  of  the  Piscataqua:  "It  is  a  most  noble  harbour,"  says  his  lordship; 
''the  biggest  ships  the  king  hath  can  lie  against  the  bank  at  Portsmouth."' 
He  llicn  advises  the  building  of  war  vessels  there  for  the  king's  service;  and 
iiieiitions  that  Charles  II.  had  complimented  the  French  king  with  tlio, 
draughts  of  the  best  ships  in  the  British  navy,  and  had  thereby  "given  vent 
to  that  precious  secret." 

In  the  day  when  all  of  old  Portsmouth  was  crowded  between  what  is 
now  Pleasant  Street  and  the  river,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  the  water-side  streets 
and  alleys  frequented  by  sailors  in  pigtails  and  petticoats;  the  mighty  ca- 


I'dINT   OK   C.ItAVKM. 


198 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


ronsals  and  roaring  choruses;  llie  ilitigy,  Mcll-smoki'd  dram-shops;  tlie  stews 
and  shuns  of  back  streets,  and  tlie  jolly  larks  and  attViiys  with  the  night-wald,. 
llear-adiniral  "  the  brave  Benbow,  sirs,"  has  landed  at  these  old  quays  from  his 
barge,  followed  as  closely  as  a  rolling  gait  would  permit  by  some  old  sea-di)g 
of  a  valet,  with  cutlass  stuck  in  a  broad,  leathern  belt,  exactly  at  the  middle 
of  his  back.  The  admiral  was  doubtless  on  his  way  to  some  convivial  ren- 
counter, where  the  punch  was  strong,  and  where  the  night  not  infrecpu'iitlv 
terminated  little  to  the  advantage  of  the  quarter-deck  over  the  foivcastle. 
The  ships  (.f  that  *lay  Mere  wonderfully  made.     Their  bows  crouclieil  Imv 


tl 


m  the  w 


ater,  their  curiously  carved  and  ornamented  sterns  rose  liiuli  al 


)(»ve 


it.  The  bowsprit  was  crossed  by  a  heavy  spar,  on  which  a  square-^aiI  was 
hoisted.  Chain  cables  had  not  been  invented,  and  hempen  ones,  as  thick  iis 
the  mainmast,  held  the  ship  at  lier  anchors.  Colored  battle  lanterns  wtiv 
fixed  above  the  tati'rail ;  watches  and  broadsides  were  regulated  by  tl  '  Ikhii'- 
glass.  The  sterns  and  bulging  quarter-galleries  of  Spanish,  French,  and  I'or- 
tuguese  war  ships  were  so  incrusted  with  gilding  it  seenu'd  a  i)ity  to  batter 
them  with  shot.     Think  of  Nelson  knocking  the  ILthj  Trlnltu  into  a  cocked 


•  t 


liat,  or  tlie  2\ceh'e  Apostles  iuio  the  iiiiddle  of  next  weel 

Tiiere  are  many  old  houses  on  Great  Island.     The  quaintncss  of  one  that 

stands  within  t  weii- 
ty  }  ai'ds  of  the  river 
is  dwavs  reuKirkcil 
in  i  ailing  by.  I  could 
not  learn  its  ati'e,  but 


liazart 


1    tl 


le    coiiiee- 


ture  it  was  there  lie- 
fore  James  II.  aluli- 
cated. 

The  visitor,  as  iu 
duty  bound,  slunild 
go  to  the  chamber 
of  the  select  men, 
wliere  tlie  town  diar- 
ter  given  by  Wiiiiaui 
and  iNIary,  in  Hi'.':!, 
is  displayed  nn  llio 
wall,engrosseil  in  al- 
most   '.ininteUigihle 

black-letter.'     The  records  of  Newcastle  have  liad  a  curious  history.     After 
u  disappeai'ance  of  nearly  fifty  years,  they  were  recovered  within  a  year  or 


OLD    IIOrSE,  OHEAT    ISLANO. 


'  The  Act  of  Corponition,  though  well  preserved,  njipenred  little  vidned ;  it  Iiiing  by  .'  curlier 
niid  ill  n  liglit  iliat  was  eveiV  day  dimming  the  ink  with  wliieh  it  liad  been  engrossed. 


NEWCASTLE   AND   NEIGH HOUIIOOD. 


199 


two  in  England.  Tho  first  volume  is  bound  in  vellum,  and,  though  somewhat 
(lo!,'-('ared,  is  perfect.  The  entries  are  in  a  f"'.ir  round-hand,  heginniiig  in  1093, 
when  J.ieutenant-governor  U.sher  signed  the  grant  ibr  the  township  of  New- 
caslK'. 

Among  the  earliest  records,  I  noticed  one  of  five  shillings  paid  for  a  pair  of 
stocks;  and  of  a  gallery  put  up,  in  1094,  in  the  meeting-liouse,  for  tho  women 
to  sit  in.  Any  townsman  entertaining  a,  stranger  above  fourteen  days,  with- 
out acquainting  the  selectmen,  was  to  be  fined.  What  would  now  be  thought 
(if iloMiiciliary  visits  like  the  Ibllowing?  "One  householder  or  more  to  walk 
cvcrv  day  in  ser. non-time  with  tiie  constable  to  eveiy  publick-liouse  in  y"' 
tow  11,  to  suppress  ill  orders,  and,  if  they  think  convenient,  to  private  houses 
also." 

I  found  the  town  quiet  enough,  but  the  youngsters  noisy  and  ill-bred. 
Tlit'ix'  seemed  also  to  be  an  unusual  number  of  loiterers  about  the  village 
stoves;  I  sometimes  passed  a  row  of  them,  s(juatted,  like  greyhounds,  on  their 
liocls,  ill  the  sun.  Those  I  noticed  whittled,  tossed  coppers,  or  laughed  and 
talked  loudly.     INFany  of  the  men  were  employed  at  Kittery  Navy  Yard. 

Vvom  observation  and  inquiry  I  am  well  assured  our  <u>vernn)ent  (^)ck- 
vanls  are,  as  a  rule,  of  little  benefit  to  the  neighboring  population.  The  Gov- 
cnimcn;,  ])ays  a  higher  ])rice  for  less  labor  than  private  persons  find  it  for 
llicir  interest  to  do.  The  work  is  intermittent;  and  it  happens  quite  too 
fiT([uoiitly  that  the  dock-yard  employe  is  always  expecting  to  be  taken  on, 
ami  will  not  go  to  work  outside  of  the 
yard;  he  is  especially  unwilling  at 
wages  less  than  the  Government  ordi 
iiariiy  pays,  upon  which  labor  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  yard  is  usually  gauged. 

A  charming  ramble  of  an  afternoon 
is  to  Fort  Constitution,  built  on  a  pro- 
tniiliug  ]»()int  of  rocks  washed  by  the 
tiilc.  When  I  saw"  it  the  old  fortress 
was  casting  its  shell,  lobster- like,  for 
a  stronger.  The  odd  old  foot-paths 
among  the  ledges  zigzag  now  to  the 
liiilit  or  left,  as  they  are  thrust  aside 
I'V  intruding  ledges.  ^Fuch  history  is  contained  within  the  four  walls  of  the 
work.'     Adjoii  ;ng  is  a  light-liouse,  originally  erected  in  1771. 


OI,I)   TOWliK,  NEWCASTLE. 


'  Tlie  rciuler  will  do  well  to  consult  Bclknnp's  ndniinible  "  History  of  New  Ilnmpsliire,"  vol.  ii. ; 
Adnms's  "Atmnls,"  or  llrewster's  "Knnil)les  about  I'oitsmontli."  Some  sort  of  (ict'ense  was  be- 
Hiin  Iiei-e  very  early.  In  KSd.T  the  .  niniissioners  of  Charles  II.  iittem])teil  to  fortify,  bi;t  were  met 
I'V  a  iiroliiiiilion  from  Massachusetts.  In  1700  tiiere  existed  on  (Jrciit  Island  ii  fort  mounting 
'liirty  KMUs.  ])V(moiniced  liy  Earl  MeliiimoiU  iiH'a|iuble  of  dulondin^s  tlie  river.  Colonel  Romer  made 
!lie  piiui  of  a  new  work,  und  recomiiiended  u  strong  tower  on  the  point  of  Fryer's  (Gerrish's)  Island, 


200 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Wliile  ciirjaccd  in  sketching  tlio  gato-way  and  portcullis  of  old  Fort 
Constitution,  I  was  accosted  l>y  a  person,  with  a  strong  German  accent,  who 
repeated,  word  lor  word,  as  I  sliotdd  judge,  a  mandate  of  the  War  Office 
against  the  taking  of  any  of  its  old  ruins  by  wandering  artists,  lie  iIumi 
walked  away,  leaving  me  to  iinisli  my  sketch  without  further  interrui)tion. 

On  a  ruckv  eminence  overlooking  the  fortress  is  a  martello  tower,  Imilt 

during  the  war  of  1812,  to  guarautLc 


tlie  mani  woik  aixanist  a 


land 


niLT  oil 


the  beach  at  the  south  side.     It  has 


b 


i^^  tlii'ee  embrasures,  and  was  begun  on 
a  Sunday,  while  two  Knglish  friuatus 
were  lying  oft"  the  Isles  of  Shoals. 
Sally-port  and  casemates  are  choked 
with  debris,  the  parapet  grass-grown. 


aiH 


1    tl 


le    WM 


ole    m    picturesque 


nun. 


3Iany  of  these  towers  were  erccli'il 
on  the  south  coast  of  England  diiriiiu' 
the  Napoleonic^  wars  to  re[)el  the  ex- 


OATEWAV,  Ol.I)    KOKT   CONSTITITION. 


pec 


ted 


invjisioii. 


Another  pleasant  walk  is  to  Little  llarboi-,  taking  by  the  way  a  look  at 
the  old  house  near  Jaffrey's  Point,  that  is  verging  on  two  hundred  years,  yet 
seems  staunch  and  strong.  The  owner  believes  it  to  be  the  same  in  wliidi 
Governor  Cranfield'  held  colonial  courts.  This  was  one  of  the  attractivt' 
sites  of  the  island,  until  (Government  began  the  construction  of  Ibrmidahlc 
earth-works  at  a  short  distance  from  the  farmstead.  The  Isles  of  Shoals  aiv 
nlainlv  distinguished,  and  with  a  iield-iilass  the  little  church  on  Star  Isi.ainl 
may  be  made  out  in  clear  weather.  I  enjoyed  a  walk  on  the  rampart  at 
evening,  when  the  lights  on  Whale's  Back,  IJoon  Island,  White  Island,  and 
Scpiam  were  seen  flashing  their  take-heed  tiirough  the  darkness. 

T.ittlo  Harbor,  where  there  is  ;i  summer  hotel,  was  the  site  of  the  first  set- 
tlement on  the  island.  At  Odiorne's  Point,  on  the  o])posite  shore,  was  com- 
mcnced,  in  1G23,  the  settlement  of  Xew  II;unpshire.  It  is  now  |)roposed  to 
(•ommiMuor.'ite  the  event  itself,  and  the  sjiot  on  which  the  first  iioiise  was 
built,  bv  a  monument." 


with  biitti'iics  on  Wund  nml  Clark's  islands.  In  Decemlier,  1771,  John  Lanj'don  and  Jolni  Sul- 
livan I'oniniittc'd  open  rciit'llion  hv  leading  a  i)Mriy  to  seize  the  ]io\vder  here.  The  fort  was  ilion 
called  William  and  Mary.  Old  Fort  Constitntion  has  the  date  of  1808  on  the  key-stone  of  the 
nreh  of  the  gate-way.  Its  walls  were  carried  to  ti  c-ertain  height  with  rough  stone  topped  "itii 
brick.  It  was  a  parallclograni,  and  moanted  barbette  gans  only.  The  present  work  is  of  kimii- 
iie,  inclosing  the  old  walls.  The  new  earth-works  on  JaliVcy's  I'oint  and  Gerrish'n  Island  rcndei' 
it  of  little  importance. 

'  (Jovernor  of  New  Hampshire  from  1(!8'J  to  lfi8.'.     The  house  is  the  residence  of  Mi-.  All>e". 

'Odiorne's  I'oiiU  is  in  liyj,  New  Hampshire.     The  settlement  began  nnder  the  auspices  ofii 


NEWCASTLE   AND   NEIGIIHOHIIOOD.  '201 

Captain  John  Alason  is  known  as  the  founder  of  New  Ilampsliire.  His 
Idiii^iapliy  is  interwoven  witli  the  times  of  tlie  u;iant  Kiehelien  and  the  pi^tny 
J)uc'i<iiiyiiani.  He  was  treasurer  and  pay-master  of  the  king's  armies  during 
tiie  war  with  Spain.  lie  was  governor  of  Portsmouth  Castle  when  Felton 
struck  liis  knife  into  tlie  duke's  left  side;  it  js  said,  in  ^lason's  own  house. 
The  name  of  Portsmouth  in  Xew  Hampshire  was  given  by  him  to  this  out- 
Miowtli  of  Portsmouth  in  old  Hampshire.  At  a  time  when  all  England  was 
ft'riiu'iiiin<i,  it  seems  passing  strange  (lorges  and  Mason  should  have  persisted 
in  their  scheme  to  gain  a  lodgment  in  Xew  England. 

Ill  Sir  Walter  Seott's  "  Ivanlioe  "  tlie  following  passage  occurs:  "The  an- 
cient ftirest  of  Sherwood  lay  between  Sheffield  and  Doneastcr.  The  remains 
ot'tlii^  ixlciisive  wood  are  still  to  be  seen  at  the  noble  seat  of  Wentworth. 
*  *  *  Jlere  hunt- 


ed (if  yore  the  fab- 
ulous Dragon  of 
Waiitley,and  here 
\\v\v  loiiglit  many 
(if  llie  most  dcs- 
]iei'ate  hattles  diir- 
iiiii  tlieCi\  ilWars 
of  the  Koses;  and 
iiere  aiso  ^our- 
i>he(l  ill  ancient 
times  those  bands 
(if  i;'anant  outlaws 
whose  deeds  have 
lieeii  rendered  so 
|iiiliiilariu  English 
story." 

Kegiiiald  Went- 
worth, lord  of  the 
iiiuiior  of  Went- 
worth, ill  IJerks, 
A. I).  1000,  is  con- 
sidered  the   eom- 

inoii  ancestor  of  the  Wentworths  of  England  and  America.     The  unfortunate 
birl  of  Strartbrd  was  a  Wentworth.     On  the  dissolution  ol"  the  monasteries, 


ililiili,liij;iii'i;)/i:iii!ii!ii 

(*1U   Tllo.MAS    WliMWOUTll,   WKNTWOUTH    UOCSi:,  I.nTI.K   IIAUBOK. 


(iimpntiy.  in  wliich  fiovges  and  Mnson  were  leiidiiifj  sjiirits.  Tlieir  grniit  covered  fhe  territory  be- 
tween ihc  MeniuiMc  aiul  SuKiuliiiioc  rivers.  Under  its  aiitlioriiy,  Dnviii  Tiiomiisfin  and  otiiers  set- 
tled at  Little  Hai  lior,  and  built  wiiat  was  siibse(iiiently  iinown  as  ivlason's  Hail.  Disliking  bis  sitii- 
ii'iiiii,  'riidiniisdn  renidvcil  tlie  next  spring  to  tlie  island  now  bearing  his  nanii;  in  Boston  Bay. 
I'lom  this  nucleus  simnig  the  settlenieut.s  at  Great  Island  and  rortsmoutb.  The  settlement  at 
Hiltdu's  I'dint  was  nearlv  coincident. 


•J02 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Nt'wstead  Abbey  was  conl't'ircd  on  Sir  Joliii  Byron  by  ireiny  VIII.  lis  site 
was  in  the  midst  of  tliu  tcrtilt'  and  intorc'stinpr  region  once  known  as  SherwooJ 
Forest.  Here  was  passed  tlie  early  youtli  of  tlie  brilliant  and  gifted  Geortrc 
Lord  Byron,  and  in  the  little  eliureh  of  Newstead  his  remains  were  laid.  The 
name  and  title  of  Baroness  Weiitwoi'th  were  in  185G  assumed  by  Lady  livniii 
whose  grandfather  M'as  Sir  Edward  Noel,  Lord  "We  itwortli. 

Another  of  the  distinu'nished  of  this  illustrious  tamilv  was  the  Mai'tiuis  of 

lioekingham,  who  voted  for  tlic  re- 
])eal  of  the  Stamj)  Act,  and  acted 
with  Chatham  against  Lord  North.' 
It  was  at  liim,  while  minister,  the 
])as(]iiinade  was  leveled, 


'  Pence  with  tlie  tliirteen  colonies  was  proposed  under  the  ndministrntion  of  Rockiiigliiim, 
:il)oi!t  the  Inst  oflicinl  net  of  his  life.     His  nnme  is  often  mot  witli  in  I'ortsnionth. 

°  Tlie  house  stiinds  at  tiie  north  end  of  Mnnuing,  formerly  Weiitwovth  Street,  and  is  limiiglit 
frnin  its  size  to  have  heeii  a  jiiiMit-- house.  Tlie  same  house  was  also  occupied  by  LieiiU'iiiint- 
(ioveruor  John,  son  of  Samuel  Wentworth.  Samuel  was  the  sou  of  Williiim,  the  first  settlor  (if 
the  tianie.  He  had  been  an  iiiiikee])er,  and  had  swiin^  his  sign  of  the  "  Dolphin  "  on  Great  Llaiitl. 
llou.  John  Wentworth,  of  Chicago,  is  the  biographer  of  his  family. 


I     VDIl    lllMV 


NKWCASTLK  AND   NF.IGIIBOHHOOD.  203 

iJcyoiul  tliis,  tlic  visitor  may  not  rol'iiso  liis  iinqiinlilifd  approval  of  tlie 
Mtc,  uliich  is  ehariniiig,  of  tlie  surromuliiigs— tlic  mausiou  was  embowered  in 
lildoiiiiii";  lilacs  when 
I  saw  it  —and  of  the 
i_'i'iit'i;il  air  of  simg- 
lii'ss  am'  of  comfort, 
ratlior  lliai:  elegance, 
wliicli  seems  the 
|iro|K'r  afmos])liere 
(if  the    Went  worth 

IlilllSC. 

j)iiih,  in  1750,  it 
coiiHiiaiKls  a  view  up 
ami  ildwii  Little  Ilar- 
Inir,  tli()ii;^li  conceal- 
ed liy  an  eminence 
iVnm  tlie  road.  I 
liail  a  brief  <>-limpse 
(if  it  while  iLToiiiq;  on 
(ii'cat  Island  via  the 
bridges.  It  is  said  it 
uriiiiiialiy  contained 
as  many  as  tifty-two 
I'loms, though  by  the 
iviiioval  of  a  good- 
sized  tenement  to  the 
"liiiosite  island  the 
iniiiilier  has  been  di- 
iniiiislied  to  forty 
live.  Tlicre  is,  tliere- 
t'ore,  plenty  of  elbow- 
'■'"'in.  The  cellar  was 
soiiiotinies  nsed  as  a 
s'.'ible:  it,  Mas  large 
tii'High  to  have  ac- 
t'oiiniiodatedatroop, 

<'iVitapiMch,asqnad- 
I'dii. 

Prepared   for  an 
iiiteiior  as  little   at-  ''*  "^^^  wentwoutu  uouse,  little  uaubuu. 

"■•■Htive  as  the  outside,  the  conjecture  of  the  visitor  is  again  at  fault,  for  this 
'Rer  old  bundle  of  joiners'  patclnvork  contains  apartments  which  indicate 
that  the  old  beau,  Benning  Wentworth,  cared  1  >ss  for  the  rind  than  the  fruit. 


204 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


'  Within  unwonted  splendors  met  tlie  eye, 
I'anels  luid  floors  of  oaic  nnd  tnpestry ; 
Curved  I'liiiniu'yiiicces  wliore  on  brnzen  dogs 
Jteveled  and  roared  tiie  Christmas  tires  of  logs  ^ 
Doors  opening  into  darkness  unuwa.es, 
Mysterious  passages  and  flights  of  stairs; 
And  on  the  walls  in  heavy  gilded  frames. 
The  aneestral  Wentworths  with  old  IScripture  names." 


i 


The  council  chambor  contains  a  gcni  of  a  mantel,  onriclictl  with  elaborate 
carving  of  busts  of  Indian  princesses,  cliai)let8,  and  garlands — a  year's  lal)or, 
it  is  said,  of  the  workman.  The  wainscot  is  waist-high,  and  heavy  heiuiis 
divide  the  ceiling.  As  we  entered  we  noticed  the  rack  in  which  the  nuiskets 
of  the  Governor's  guard  were  deposited. 

lint  what  catches  the  eye  of  the  visitor  soonest  and  retains  it  longest, 
is  the  portraits  on  the  walls.      First  is  a  canvas  representing  the  E.ui  of 

Strafford'  dictating  to 
his  secretary,  in  [\\v 
Tower,  on  the  d.iy  im- 
lore  his  execution.    At 


ins    truu 
witness,' 


says  an  cyi'- 
he  was  always 


in  the  satne  suit  of'black. 
as  in  dooU; "  (mourn- 
iiig).  AVhen  the  lieii- 
teiiant  of  the  Tower  ul- 
lered  him  a  coach,  lest 
he    should    be    torn  in 


th 


('     molt 


pieces     u 

in  going  to  exccutinii, 
he  replied,  "I  die  to 
l)lease  the  peo])k',  ami  I 
will  die  in  tlieir  own 
way."      ■ 

Here  is  a  porti'ait 
from  the  brush  of  Co]!- 
Icy,  who  reveled  in  rieli 
in  till' 
accessories  of  his  ]m\- 
traits  quite  as  much  as  in  painting  rounded  arms,  beautiful  liands,  and  shapely 
figures.     This  one  in  pink  satin,  with  over-dress  of  white  lace,  short  !  leeves 

'  Ills  second  wife  was  Henrietta  dii  Roy,  daughter  of  Frederick  Charles  du  Roy,  generalissimo 
to  the  King  of  Dcimnirk. 


draperies    ami 


UOUSE. 


"■)? 


NEWCASTLE  AND   XEIGIIBORIIOOD. 


205 


with  (loop  ruffles,  and  coquettish  liice  cap,  is  Dorothy  Quincy,  tlic  greatest 
belle  and  breaker  of  hearts  of  iier  clay.  It  was  not,  it  is  said,  her  fault  that 
slic  boeaine  Mrs.  Governor  Hancock,  instead  of  Mrs.  Aaron  liurr.  Wlien  in 
Inter  years,  as  Madam  Scott,  she  retained  all  the  vivacity  of  eighteen,  slie  was 
fond  of  relating  liow  tlie  hand  now  seen  touching  rather  than  supporting  her 
clioek,  lia'l  been  kissed  by  nianjuises,  dukes,  and  counts,  who  had  experienced 
tiio  hospitality  of  the  Hancock  mansion;  and  how  D'Estaiiig,  put  to  l)ed  after 
too  much  wine,  had  torn  her  best  damask  coverlet  with  the  spurs  lie  iuid  for- 
gotten to  renjove. 

Otlier  portraits  are — Of  Queen  Cliristiua  of  Sweden,  who  looks  down  with 
the  same  pitiless  eyes  that  exulted  in  the  murder  of  her  equerry,  Monaldeschi ; 
one  said  to  be  Secretary  Waltlron,  a  right  noble  countenance  and  martial 
timu'o;  and  of  Mr.  and  IMrs.  Jacob  Sheafle. 

I  coidd  be  loquacious  on  the  subject  of  tliese  portraits,  the  fading  impres- 
sions of  histories  varied  or  startling,  of  exj)eriences  more  curious  than  protita- 
liie  to  narrate.  In  tlieir  presence  we  take  a  step  backward  into  the  past,  that 
past  whose  lessons  we  will  not  heed.  Hawthorne,  standing  before  a  wall  cov- 
iTod  with  such  old  counterfeits,  was  moved  to  say:  "Nothing  gives  a  strong- 
er idea  of  old  worm-eaten  aristocracy,  of  a  family  being  crazy  with  age,  and 
of  its  being  time  that  it  was  extinct,  than  these  black,  dusty,  faded,  antique- 
dressed  portraits." 

The  old  furniture  standing  about  was  ricddy  cai'ved,  and  covered  with 
faded  green  damask.  In  the  billiard-room  was  an  ancient  spinet,  quite  as 
niiicli  out  of  tune  as  out  of  date.  Doubtless,  the  flashing  of  white  hands 
across  those  same  yellow  keys  has  often  struck  an  answering  choi'd  in  the 
breasts  of  colonial  youth.  Here  are  more  portraits;  and  a  buffet,  a  side- 
l)oard,  and  a  se<lan-chair.     Punch  has  flowed,  and  laughter  echoed  here. 

The  reader  knows  the  pretty  story,  so  gracefully  told  by  Mr.  Longfellow, 
of  Martha  Hilton,  who  became  the  second  wife  of  Governor  Jienning,'  and 
thus  Lady  AVentworth  of  the  Hall. 

We  can  see  her  as  she  goes  along  the  street,  swinging  the  pail,  a  trifle 
heavy  for  her,  and  splashing  with  the  water  her  naked  feet.  We  hear  her 
ringing  laughter,  and  the  saucy  answer  to  Mistress  Stavers  in  her  furbelows, 
as  that  buxom  landlady  flings  at  her,  in  passing,  the  sharp  reproof: 

"O  Martha  Hilton!     Fio!   how  dare  yon  go 
About  the  town  hiilf-dressed  and  looking  so?" 

The  poet's  tale  is  at  once  a  history  and  a  picture,  full  of  pretty  conceits 
und  picturesque  situations.  Fancy  the  battered  eftigy  of  the  Earl  of  Halifax 
on  the  innkeeper's  sign  falling  at  the  feet  of  Mrs.  Stavers  to  declare  his  pas- 
sion. 


'  Bennington,  Vermont,  is  named  from  Governor  Wentwortli. 


i'OG 


THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


J5iit  Bonniiig  Wont- 
wortli, governor  thous^h 
he  was,  was  none  too 
good  for  ^laitlia  Hil- 
ton.' •  It  was  the  pride 
of  tlio  Ililtons  made 
lier  say,  "  I  yet  shall 
ride  in  my  own  chari- 
ot." The  widowed  gov- 
ernor was  gonty,  ]tas- 
sionate,  and  had  ini- 
hibed  with  his  long 
residence  in  Spain  tlie 
liautenr  of  the  Span- 
iard, lie  left  (ftit-e  in 
ITGG  in  disgrace. 

The  last  of  the  co- 
lonial Wentworths  was 
Sir  John,  in  whose  fa- 
vor his  uncle  had  been 
allowed  to  screen  him- 
self by  a   resignation. 


Tl 


lere  are  some 


odd 


co- 


incidences in  the  fann- 
Iv  records  of  botli  nn- 


d 


ele  ami  nennew 


T\ 


former's    widow    made 
a  second  marriage  to  a 
Wentworth  ;  the  latter  married  his  widowed  cousin,  Fi'ances  Wentwortli." 
The  mansion  of  Sir  John   may  be   seen    in    I'ieasant   Street,  Portsnioiitl 
He  was  the  last  royal  governor  of  New  Hampshire.     John  Adams  ment 


ions 


'  Her  graiidfatlter,  lion,  liifliiird  Hilton,  of  Newmarket,  was  grandson  of  Edwanl,  tlie  (iiij,'iiiiil 
settler  of  Dover,  New  Haini)sliire,  and  liad  l)t'en  a  justice  of  tiie  Superior  t'ourt  of  the  I'loviace.— 
John  Wkntwouth. 

'■'  Frances  Dueling  Wentworth  manied  Jolin  just  two  weeks  after  the  decease  of  her  livst  liii<- 
hand,  Theodore  Atkinson,  also  lier  cousin,  and  in  the  same  church  from  wliicli  he  iiad  been  iinriol 
— matter  for  such  condolence  and  reproof  as  Talleynind's  celebrated  "  Ah,  mndame,"  .miuI  "Oh. 
madanie."  Honriiig  Wentworth's  widow  married  Colniiel  Midiael  Wcntwoith,  said  to  h■^\^'  I'ecii 
:i  reiiied  Biitisli  orticer.  He  was  a  great  horseman  and  a  free  liver.  Onci!  lie  rode  from  Huhkui 
to  Portsmouth  between  sunrise  and  sunset.  Having  run  through  a  handsome  estate,  he  dicil  un- 
der suspicion  of  suicide,  leaving  bis  own  epitaph,  "  I  have  eaten  my  cake."  Colonel  Michael  "iis 
the  host,  at  the  Hall,  of  Washiiigton.  In  1817,  the  house  at  Little  Harbor  was  purchased  by 
Charles  Cushing,  whose  widow  was  u  daughter  of  Jacob  Sheafi'e. 


NEWCASTLE    AM)   NEICiUlK'MIOOD. 


207 


tsiiioutli. 

lU'lllitillS 


lie  (iri;,'iiiiil 
:'^c)^iMl.'e.— 

liisl  liii-^- 
hecu  iiiuit'il 

iiiul  •■t>li. 

hiiM'  I'ei'ii 
■0111  Hosliiii 
„.  Uieil  "11- 
liclinel  "lis 
rchased  liy 


that  as  lio  was  leaving  liis  box  at  the  tlicatro  one  night  in  I'aiis,  a  gentleman 
seized  him  by  the  liand :  '"(Jovernor  Wentworth,  sir,' said  the  gentleman. 
At  liist  I  was  embarrassed,  and  knew  not  how  to  behave  toward  him.  As 
mv  fhissinate  and  friend  at  eoUege,  and  ever  sinee,  I  eonid  have  pressed  liim 
to  my  bosom  with  most  cordial  afleetion.  But  we  now  belonged  to  two  dif- 
fi'vcnt  nations,  at  war  with  each  other,  and  eonsc(iuently  were  enemies." 

Tlie  i<ing  afterward  gave  Sir  Jolin  the  government  of  Nova  Scotia.  The 
iioct  Moore  mentions  the  baronet's  kind  treatment  of  him  in  1805,  dining  liis 
American  tour.  He  is  suid  to  have  kept  sixteen  horses  in  his  stable  at 
Portsmouth,  and  to  have  been  a  free-liver.  A  man  of  unijiiestioned  ability 
to  govern,  who  went  down  under  the  great  revolutionary  wave  of  1775,  but 
rose  again  to  the  surface  and  struck  boldly  out. 

TiuMc  is  now  in  the  possession  of  James  Lenox,  of  New  Vork,  n  portrait 
of  the  baronet's  wife,  by  Copley,  painted  in  his  best  manner.  The  lady  was 
a  cclcbnited  beauty.  Tiie  lace  has  caught  an  expression,  indescribably  arch, 
as  if  its  owner  repressed  an  invincible  desire  to  torment  the  artist.  In  it  are 
sot  a  pair  of  eyes,  black  and 
(lanijerous,  with  high-arched 
lirows,  ii  tein})ting  yet  mock- 
iiii^  month,  and  nose  a  little 
ri'tromse.  Her  natural  hair 
is  decorated  with  jiearls;  a 
string  of  them  encircles  her 
throat.  The  corsage  is  very 
lo\v,(lisphiyitig  a  pairof  white 
shoulders  such  as  the  poet  im- 
agined : 

"Slie  liiis  a  bosom  as  white  as  snow, 
Take  care  I 
She  knows  how  iniieli  it  is  best  to 
si    .v, 

Heware  I  beware ! " 


111  1777  l^aron  Steuben 
arrived  in  Portsmouth,  in 
the  FlmiuduL  Franklin  had 
snubbed  him,  St.  Germain 
urged  him, but  Bcaumarcluiis 
ortered  him  a  thousand  louis-d'or.'  On  the  day  the  baron  joined  the  army  at 
\  alh'y  Forge  his  name  was  the  w;itch-word  in  all  the  camps. 

"PaulJones  shall  equip  his  Bonne  Ilomme  Richard;  wonpons,  military  stores  can  be  smug- 
gled over  (if  the  English  do  not  seize  them);  wherein,  once  more  Heaumarchais,  dimly  as  the  Giant 
Smiijigler.  becomes  visible— filling  his   own  lank  pocket  withal."— Caulyle,  "French  Kevolu- 

'ion,"v(il.  i.,  p.  43. 


BAHON    STEITHEN. 


'■"ir--^ 


WITCU    IIII.L,  SALEM. 


(^IIAITKII  XIV. 

SALKM    VILLAGE,  AND   '92. 

Bitnquo.    "Wore  such  tilings  here  as  we  do  speak  nhoiit? 
Or  have  we  oaten  of  tlio  insane  root, 
Tiiat  takes  the  reason  j)iisoner ?" — Macln/li. 

SALEM  VILLAGE  lias  a  sorrowful  cclclnity.  It  woiiUl  seem  as  if  an  ad- 
verse spell  still  Imiig  over  it,  for  in  the  ehaiiges  brought  by  time  to  its 
neighbors  it  lias  no  part,  remaining,  as  it  is  likely  to  lemaiii,  Salem  Village— 
that  is  to  say,  distinctively  aiitiqutitecl,  sombre,  ami  lifeless. 

A  collection  of  houses  scattered  along  the  old  high-road  from  Salem  to 
Andover,  decent-looking,  brown-roofed,  though  humble  dwellings,  a  somewliat 
l)retcnding  village  church,  and  jileasant,  home-like,  parsonage;  old  trees,  part- 
ly verdant,  ])artly  withered,  stretching  naked  boughs  above  the  galilcs  of 
houses  even  older  than  themselves,  embody  something  of  the  impressions  of 
oft-repeated  walks  in  what  is  known  as  the  "Witch  Neighborhood." 

The  village  contains  one  central  point  of  j)aramount  interest.  It  is  an  in- 
closed space  of  grass  ground,  a  short  distance  I'rom  the  priiici])al  and  only 
street,  reached  by  a  well-trodden  by-path.  Within  this  now  naked  field  once 
stood  a  house,  with  a  garden  and  orchard  surrounding.  Of  the  house  nothing 
remains  except  a  slight  depression  in  the  soil ;  of  the  orchard  and  gaiiUii 
there  is  no  trace;  yet  bard  by  I  chanced  on  a  bank  of  aromatic  thyme  oncf 
held  of  singular  potency  in  witchcraft  —  as  in  the  "Faerie  Queen,"  the  tree 
laments  to  the  kni<xht: 

"I  chanced  to  see  her  in  lier  proper  hue, 
Batiiing  herself  in  origan  and  thyme." 


SALKM  VILLAGK,  AND  '92. 


209 


if  an  ad- 
iiiic  to  its 
\' ill  age— 

SaU'in  to 
sdiiK'wliat 
rocs,  pait- 
o;alilcs  of 
(.'ssioiis  ul 

^t  is  an  ill- 
aiul  only 
iii'lil  once 
?e  iiotliiii:4 
Ll  uariU'ii 
liyiiu'  ona' 
I"  the  tree 


III  this  quiet,  out-of-ilie-\vay  litllu  nook,  Salem  witclioraCt  had  its  bcj^in- 
iiiiiij;.  'I'lie  siiiiken  cavity  is  what  rt'inaiiis  of  liic  Ministry  House,  so  calle«l, 
iiiilli'il  down  in  1785  (not  a  day  too  soon);  the  den  of  error  in  which  the 
iiiagiii'-spot  first  a]i|)eared.  No  one  would  have  thought,  standinii;  licM'c,  that 
lie  surveyed  the  focus  of  malevolence  so  deadly  as  the  wretched  delirium 
of '92. 

Till'  well-iiifonned  reader  is  everywhere  familiar  with  the  origin  and  de- 
velopiiu'iit  of  Salem  witchcraft.'  It  has  employed  the  best  ])eiis  as  it  has  puz- 
zli'il  tlie  best  brains  amonj;  us;  until  to-day  the  whole  art'air  remains  envel- 
oped ill  a  mystery  which  the  theories  of  nearly  two  luindied  years  have  failed 
wholly  to  penetrate. 

The  writer  has  had  frequent  occasion  to  know  liow  wide-spread  is  the  be- 
lief that  witchcral't  began  in  New  Kiiglaiid,  ami  particularly  in  Salem.  This 
is  to  be  classed  among  ^lopiilar  errors  upon  which  repeated  denials  have  lit- 
tle eft'ect.  Neve.'theless,  witchcraft  did  not  originate  in  New  England ;  no, 
nor  ill  old  England  either,  for  that  matter.  The  belief  in  it  was  earlier  than 
the  Miii/jfoirt');  older  than  the  Norman  Conquest,  and  antedated  the  Homan 
Kmiiire.     The  first  written  acouiit  of  it  is  contained  in  Scripture.^ 

Saul  incurred  the  anger  oi'Clod  by  consulting  the  Witch  of  Endor.  Joan 
of  Arc  was  b  irned  as  a  witch  in  14;jl.  About  fifty  years  later  the  Church 
of  Home  fulminated  a  bull  against  witchcraft.  The  number  of  suspected 
|)cr.soiis  already  burned  at  the  stake  or  subjected  to  the  most  cruel  torments 
is  estimated  at  many  thousands. 

Ill  taking  leave  of  the  Dark  Ages  we  do  not  take  our  leave  of  witchcraft. 
More  than  a  hundred  thousand  victims  had  jierished  in  (lermaiiy  and  Franco 
alone  before  the  3raijJiou'ev  sailed  from  Delft.  The  Pilgrims,  I  engage,  be- 
lieved ill  it  to  a  man. 

Old  England!  Why, the  statute  against  witchcraft  was  not  repealed  un- 
til 1730,  in  the  second  George's  time,  though  it  had  lain  dormant  some  years. 
The  last  recorded  execution  in  the  British  Islands  occurred  in  Scotland,  as 
late  as  1V2L>.  The  sixth  chapter  of  Lord  Coke's  "Third  Institutes"  is  de- 
voted to  a  panegyric  on  the  statutes  for  punishing  "  conjuration,  sorcery, 
witchcraft,  or  enchantment."  The  laws  of  England  were  the  fundamental 
law  of  New  England  ;  witchcraft  was  in  the  list  of  recognized  crimes  throngh- 
oiit  Christendom. 

France,  under  Louis  le  Grand,  whose  style  history  will  change,  notwith- 
standing his  famous  '"'"V  Hat  c'e»t  moi^''  to  Louis  the  Little,  was  immeshed  in 
the  net  of  superstition.  The  highest  personages  of  the  court  resorted  to  the 
astrologers  for  horoscopes,  charms,  or  philters.     We  might  see  later  the  magic 


'  Mather  and  Hutchinson  deal  largely  with  it.     Upliam  and  Drake  have  tonipiled,  arranged, 
and  iiniilyzL'd  it. 

"  Exod.  xxii.,  18  (1491  B.f,);  "Thou  shalt  not  .suffer  a  witch  to  live." 

14 


110 


TIIK  NKW  KN(iLANI)  COAST. 


and  sorcery  ol'tlic  sixlot'iilli  centtiry  aiid  of  the  sevoiitecnth  triinsforinc'd  into 
studios  ill  clu'iiiislry  under  tlie  llci^ciicy,  and  bccoino  cxpcriinuiils  in  iniii^ui'i- 
ism  ill  tlin  i'i;j;litci'iith  ci'iitMiy. 

Tiic  settlers  ill  New  Kiiglaiid,  who  broiu^lil  ;ill  their  Ohl-World  supersti- 
tions witii  tlieiii,  were  not  surjuised  to  find  tlio  Indiaiis  fully  iiii|>reLniiile(l 
with  ii  belief  in  inaj^ic  e(iual  to  their  own.  Tho  wonderful  cures  of  the  imliaii 
niajiieiiins  or  inedicine-nieii  were  thoroughly  bulievod  in,  and  are  voucheil  lor 
by  white  evidence.  One  of  tlieir  i'avorite  methods  of  reveii<;;inL!:  private  in- 
jury was  by  enehantiiii;'  a  hair,  which  entered  the  bodies  of  their  enemies  and 
killed  them  while  sleepinu;.  It  is  noted  that  Tituba,  an  Indian,  had  iiiiicli  U> 
do  with  the  outbreak  in  Salem  villa;j,e. 

Sir  William  Tliips,  an  illiterate  but  not  incapable  man,  liad  been  appointcil 
(lovernor  of  .Massachusetts  liay,  under  the  new  charter  of  William  and  .Mary. 
The  charter  conferred  the  power  of  civil  Ljoverninenl,  and  separated  the  \vi/\>- 
lative  from  the  judicial  authority.  Sir  William  constituted  a  eommissiou  of 
seven  to  try  the  witchcraft  cases  at  Salem.  As  he  had  no  jiower  to  create 
such  a  court  under  the  charter,  one  of  the  saddest  rcHections  that  arise  from 
these  bloody  proceed iiiijs  is  that  twenty  persons  surtered  death  for  ;iii  iinaiti- 
nary  crime,  intlicted  by  an  illet;al  tribunal.  The  proviiu-e  law  of  Ml!):.'  de- 
creed death  for  "  enchantment,  sorcery,  charm,  or  conjuration,  or  invocation,  or 
to  feed  any  wicked  spirit." 

The  first  authenticated  case  of  witclicraft  in  Xew  England,  and  also  tlio 
first  execution,  took  place  at  IJostoti.  as  e.'irly  as  1G4S.  The  culprit,  .Margaret 
Jones,  of  Charlestown,  was  suspected  of  liaving  and  using  the  "malignant 
touch."  She  jirofessed  some  knowledge  of  medicine,  and  j)robably  availed 
licrself  of  the  awe  in  wiiicli  she  was  held  by  the  superstitious  to  ply  her  tiade. 
Many  otlier  cases  .are  mentioned  in  the  otiier  colonies,  Connecticut  hearing 
her  full  sliare,  Itefore  the  climax  of  1G92  is  reaehe<l.  Then,  as  afterward,  tlie 
accusations  fell  chiefiy  upon  women;  the  old,  friendless,  or  hall-witled  bear- 
ing the  burden  of  every  accident  in  their  iKrighborhood. 

An  English  writer  gravely  says  in  1690  :  "Several  old  women  suspected  for 
wdtches  in  and  about  Lancashire  have  been  often  noted  to  have  beards  of  con- 
siderable growth,  tho'  tliat's  no  general  rule,  some  of  the  reverend  and  virtu- 
ous being  often  liable  to  tlie  same."  Everywhere  witchcraft  was  received  as 
a  stubborn  fact.  The  crimin.al  codes  of  nearly  if  not  quite  all  the  colonies 
recognized  it.  In  Pennsylvania,  if  tradition  may  be  believed,  the  fact  was 
met  by  no  less  stubborn  common  sense.  It  is  said,  wdien  I'hiladelpliia  was 
three  years  old,  a  woman  was  brought  before  Governor  Penn,  chargeil  with 
witchcraft  and  riding  through  the  air  on  a  broomstick.  Although  the  woman 
conlessed  her  guilt,  she  was  dismissed  liy  tlie  Quaker  magistrate  with  the  as- 
surance that,  as  there  was  no  law  against  it,  she  might  ride  a  broomstick  as 
often  as  she  pleased. 

Could  a  full  and  candid  confession  be  obtained  of  the  present  generation 


ic'd  iiii'A 

iiil)crsli- 
(.'tfiiati'il 
e  Iiuliaii 
clic'il  I'ur 
iviitf  ill- 
nics  and 

lIUU'll  Ui 

Itpoiiitoil 
111  Mary, 
llic  It'^is- 
lission  of 
to  civate 
rise  tVoiii 
ai)  iinajii- 
l()!t2  di'- 
oa  lion,  or 

1  also  the 
Mariiaivl 
ali^naiil 
availed 
T  trade, 
liearini; 
;anl,  tliu 
led  boar- 

h'UmI  for 
s  v['  con- 
ml  virtii- 
•oivod  us 

fdlollil'S 

fact  was 
[ihia  was 
mnl  with 
10  wninaii 
h  the  as- 
msliek  as 

(.■ueratiou 


mm 


SALEM  VILLAGE,  AND  'i)2. 


213 


tluTo  would  appear  more  suporstition  than  we  wot  of,  sticli  as  would  sliow  us 
legitimate  descendants  of  credulous  colonists.  It  is  not  long  since  a  staid  old 
town  in  ]\[assacluisetts  was  in  consternation  at  the  report  of  a  ghost  in  a 
scliool-rooni.  Signs  and  portents  have  been  lianded  down  and  are  religiouslv 
liclii'vcd  in  by  other  than  the  ignorant  and  credulous,  as  has  been  already 
slated  in  a  former  chapter.  A  very  small  proportion  of  the  skeptical  could 
be  induced  to  enter  a  church-yard  at  night.  There  is  some  subtle  principle 
(it'  our  nature  that  gives  ready  adhesion  to  the  niystical  or  the  marvelous  ; 
and  it  is  believed 
tliey  were  not  dif- 
ferently constitu- 
ted in  1002. 

Leaving  the 
Witch  (iround, 
the  visitor,  in  re- 
tracing his  steps, 
will  pass  near  the 
old  Nurse  House, 
a  memorial  of  one 
(if  the  most  dam- 
ning of  the  inno- 
cent sacrifices  to 
suiierstition.      It 


uiiiiKcrA  muse's  house. 

is  not  easy  to  sit  down  and  write  of  it  with  the  indifference  of  the  profession- 
iil  historian. 

liehccca  Xnrsc,  ag(>d  and  infirm,  universally  beloved  by  lier  neighbors, 
was  .lecused.  The  jury,  moved  by  her  innocence,  having  brought  in  a  verdict 
of  "not  guilty,"  tlie  court  sent  them  out  again  with  instructions  to  find  her 
ifiiilty.  She  was  executed.  The  tradition  is  that  her  sons  disinterred  her  body 
hy  stealth  from  tlie  foot  of  the  gallows,  where  it  had  been  thrown,  and  brought 
it  to  the  old  liomestead,  laying  it  reverently  and  with  many  tears  in  tlie  little 
Imryiiig-ground  which  the  family  always  kept,  ami  which  is  still  seen  nearby. 

fhit  briefly  to  our  history.  We  tliere  discover  that  twenty  jiersons  lost 
their  lives  througli  the  denunciation  of  eight  simple  country  girls,  the  young- 
est being  eleven,  and  the  oldest  not  more  than  twenty  years  of  age.'  These 
maidens  met  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Parris,  the  then  minister  of  the  village, 
iind  on  the  spot  where  the  earth  is  now  trying  to  ileal  the  scar  left  b\^  the 
old  cellar.  They  formed  what  was  then  and  is  still  known  as  a  "circle"  in 
^t'w  England,  devoted  in  these  more  modern  days  to  clothing  the  lieathen 
:iiiil  bewitching  tlie  youth  who  enter  their  influence. 


Aliigail  Willinms,  eleven ;  Mary  Walciit,  seventeen;  Ann  Piitiiain,  twelve;  Mercy  Lewis, 
seventeen ;  Mary  Warren,  twenty ;  Elizubetii  Booth,  eighteen ;  Sarah  Cluirchill,  twenty ;  Susannah 
^lieldon,  age  not  known. 


214 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


The  moat  plausible,  ami  therefore  the  commonly  received  opinion  is,  that 
these  girls,  having  at  first  practiced  sotne  of  the  well-known  methods  of  per- 
forming magic,  were  led  into  a  series  of  false  accusations  which,  from  boiiis^ 
conceived  in  a  spirit  of  mischief,  grew  into  crimes  of  the  first  magnitiulo  as 
they  found  themselves  carried  away  by  a  frenzy  they  had  not  moral  couraife 
to  stay.  Another  presumption  supposes  the  girls  believers  in  their  own  pow- 
ers. This  view  is  sustained  by  the  universal  belief  in  witchcraft,  the  ready 
adiiesion  given  to  their  charges,  the  support  they  received  from  the  judges, 
and  the  terrible  power  with  which  they  found  themselves  possessed.  Anoth- 
er solution  is  found  in  the  occult  influences  of  second-sight  io  widely  credited 
in  Scotland  in  years  by-gone,  tlie  psychology  and  clairvoyance  of  the  present 
day.     Dr.  Siunucl  .Toliuson  said  he  would  rather  believe  in  second-sight  than 

. ,_.  in  the  poetry  of 
Ossian.  If  the 
soundest  thinkers 
of  the  lunetecntli 
century  are  stair- 
gered  to  account 
for  the  phenomena 
of  spirit-rappinirs. 
it  is  wise  to  defer 
a  hasty  condem- 
nation of  the  "pos- 
sessed dainosels " 
of  Salem  village. 

Instead  of  ply- 
ing its  needles,tlie 

circle  was  engaged  in  attempts  to  discover  the  future.      Rev.  John  Hale,  in 
his  "Modest  Intpiiry  into  the  Xature  of  Witchcraft,"  has  this  to  say: 

"I  fear  some  young  persons,  through  a  vain  curiosity  to  know  tlioir  fu- 
ture condition,  have  tampered  with  devil's  tools,  so  far  that  thereby  one  door 
was  opened  to  Satan  to  play  those  pranks— yi7<»o  1692.  I  knew  one  of  the 
Afflicted  i)ersons,  who  (as  I  was  credibly  informed),  did  try  with  an  egg  and 
a  glass  to  find  her  future  husband's  calling;  till  there  came  up  a  coffin,  that 
is,  a  spectre  in  likeness  of  a  coflin.  And  she  was'afterward  followed  with 
diabolical  molestation  to  her  death  ;  and  '■,.»  dyed  a  single  person.  A  just 
warning  to  others,  to  take  heed  of  handling  tlie  devil's  weapons  lest  they  get 
a  wound  thereby."  This  John  Hale,  teacher  of  the  people,  was  at  first  a 
zealous  believer.  Perhaps  the  denunciation  of  his  own  wife  liad  something 
to  do  with  his  backsliding  into  common  sense. 

The  accusing  girls  were  believed  infallible  witch-finders.  Their  services 
were  consequently  in  demand  as  their  fame  spread  abroad.  Some  of  them 
were  taken  to  Andove-,  leaving  distrust,  dismay,  and  death  in  the  quiet  old 


•v^>:..„.,i;iu'^ 


ruocTKu  iiorsE. 


SALEM  VILLAGE,  AND  '92. 


215 


West  Parish.  "In  a  short  time,"  says  the  annalist,  "  it  was  commonly  re- 
ported forty  men  of  Andover  could  raise  tlie  devil  as  well  as  any  astrologer." 

A  "  Boston  Man"  having  taken  liis  sick  child  to  Salem  in  order  to  consult 
tlio  alHicted  ones,  obtained  the  names  of  two  of  his  own  towns-people  as  the 
authors  of  its  distemi)er;  but  the  Jioston  justices  refused  warrants  to  appre- 
liend  them,  and  Increase  ^Mather  asked  the  father  if  there  was  not  a  (iod  in 
Koslou  that  he  must  go  to  tiie  devil  in  Salem.  These  two  persons  are  said 
to  liave  been  Mrs.  Thatcher,  mother-in-law  of  Curwin,  one  of  the  judges,'  aiul 
the  wife  of  Sir  William  Phips. 

As  soon  as  the  piosecutions  stopped,  it  was  remarked  that  the  apparitions 
ceased.  Once  or  twice  tiie  accuser  recoiled  before  a  sliarp  and  swift  reproof, 
as  at  Lieutenant  IngersoU's,  when  one  of  them  cried  out,  "There's  Goody 
Procter  !"  IJaymond  and  Goody  IngersoU  told  her  flatly  she  lied  ;  there  was 
iiotliiii;4'.     The  girl  was  cowed,  and  "  said  she  did  it  for  sport." 

Even  the  witchcraft  horrors  have  a  humorous  side — grimly  humorous,  it 
is  true,  iike  the  jokes  cracked  in  a  dissecting-room.  Tiie  thought  of  pots  and 
kettles  jumping  on  the  crane,  cf  anchors  lea))ing  overboard  of  themselves, 
and  of  liay-cocks  found  hanging  to  trees  is  rather  mirth-})rovoking.  Mirrors 
were  daily  consulted  by  maids  and  widows  looking  for  a  husband.  A  mat- 
ter of  life  and  death  could  not  prevent  George  Jacobs,  the  old  grandfather, 
from  laughing  heartily  at  the  spasmodic  antics  of  Abigail  Williams. 

It  seems  a  pity  that  New  England  in  her  greatest  need  should  have  found 
no  cliani])ion,  like  St.  Dunstan,  to  argue  with  and  Hnally  compel  the  devil  to 
own  himself  confuted,  as,  according  to  vulgar  belief,  he  did,  by  taking  the 
tieiid  by  the  nose  with  a  pair  of  red-hot  tongs;  or  as  Ignatius  Loyola,  who, 
when  disturbed  at  his  devotions  by  the  devil,  seized  his  cudgel  and  drubbed 
him  away.^  Montmorency,  a  peer  and  marshal  of  France,  son  of  the  famous 
liouteville,  whom  Kichelieu  had  caused  to  be  decapitated  for  flghting  a  duel 
at  midday  in  the  Place  IJoyal,  was  weak  enough  to  visit  La  Voisin,  the  re- 
nowned conjuror  and  fabricator  of  j)oisons  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  La 
Voisin  had  promised  to  show  him  the  devil,  and  the  duke  was  curious. 
When  the  niareclial  whipped  out  his  rapier  and  thrust  vigorously  at  the  speo- 
tic,  it  nil  on  its  knees,  and  begged  its  life.  The  devil  proved  to  be  a  con- 
IciU'rate  of  La  Voisin.  Archibald,  duke  of  Argyle,  was  haunted  by  blue 
liliaiitonis — the  origin  of  our  epithet  for  melancholy,  "  blue  devils." 

Ill  the  village  tavern  there  was  a  battle  with  spectres  that  Abigail  Wil- 
liams and  Mary  AValeut  declared  were  present.  13enjamin  Hutchinson  and 
Kleazcr  Williams  pulled  out  their  swords  and  cut  and  stabbed  the  air  until, 
as  the  two  girls  averred,  the  floor  was  deep  in  ghostly  blood  ! 

A  ride  through  the  woods  then  was  little  coveted  by  the  stoutest  hearts. 
A  spark  of  fear  is  soon  blown  into  uncontrollable  panic.     Bushes  grew  spec- 


'  Account  of  Thomas  Bnittle. 


See  liis  life,  page  80. 


210 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


tres  and  trees  outstretched  goblin  arms.  Eliz;il)etli  ITubbard  was  ridiiiir 
home  from  meeting  on  the  crupper,  behind  old  Clement  Colduni.  The  rus- 
tling leaves  were  witches'  whisperings,  the  white  birches  seemed  ghosts  in 
their  winding-sheets.  The  woman,  faint  -  hearted  and  overmastered  by  a 
nameless  dread,  cried  out  to  tlie  goodinan  to  ride  for  life — the  woods  were  full 
of  devils.  Though  he  could  see  none,  the  valiant  rider  sjiurred  his  horse  liki- 
mud,  and  rode  as  Tain  O'Shanter  rode  his  fearful  race  when  pursued  by  tlie 
witches  of  Kirk  Alloway. 

The  trysting-place  of  the  witches  was  in  Parris's  pasture.  It  was  licre 
Abigail  llobbs,  who  had  sold  herself  to  the  "  Old  I>oy,"  attending,  saw  the  sac- 
rament of  the  "  red  bread  and  the  red  wine"  administered  to  the  devil's  elect. 
I'oor  Geortje  IJurrousihs,  whom  we  met  for  a  moment  in  our  walk  tlinuiiih 
Wells,  was  denounced  for  summoning  with  a  trumi)et  tlie  attending  witclici. 
Obedient  to  the  sound,  from  I'ar  and  near,  the  withered  beldams,  tootlll{'^<s 
hags  in  short  petticoats,  white  linen  hoods,  and  conical  high  crowned  hats, 
come  flocking  on  flying  broomsticks.  Satan  is  there  in  person,  not  playing 
the  bag])ii)e,  as  in  Tain  O'.Siianter's  fearful  conclave,  but  with  the  convention- 
ul  book  written  in  letters  of  blood. 

Certes,  these  were  Init  rude  ghosts.  Nowadays  the  devil  is  raiseil  as 
easily,  but  comlucts  liimself  with  greater  jiropriety,  as  becomes  the  de\  il  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  The  damp  grass  of  the  church-yard  and  the  witches' 
den  are  bugbears  no  longer.  We  sit  in  a  comfortable  apartment  arouml  a 
mahogany  table.  Our  ghost  no  more  appears  in  mouldy  shroud,  but,  like  a 
well-bred  spectre,  knocks  for  admittance.  Soon  liis  card  will  be  handed  in 
on  a  salver,  and  we  may  perhaps  in  time  expect  daily  Aveather  reports  from 
the  nether  world. 

IJefore  leaving  the  village,  I  turned  into  one  of  those  old  abandoned  roads 
in  which  I  like  so  well  to  walk.  Left  on  one  side  by  a  shorter  cut,  saving 
some  rods  to  this  hurrying  age,  the  deserted  by-way  conducts  you  into  soli- 
tudes proper  for  communion  with  tlio  past.  Grass  has  sprung  up  so  thickly 
as  almost  to  conceal  traces  of  the  once  well-worn  ruts,  now  oidy  two  indis- 
tinct lines  of  lighter  green.  Young  pines,  a  foot  high,  are  rooted  in  the  cart- 
way; stone  walls,  moss-grown  and  tumbling  down.  Here  and  there  aic  tlio 
ghastly  remains  of  some  old  orchard,  the  ground  strewed  with  withertHl 
branches.  A  halfobliterated  cellar  denotes  a  former  habitation  ;  even  tlie 
land  betrays  evidences  of  having  been  turned  by  the  plows  of  two  centuries 
.ago.  AVho  have  passed  this  way  ?  Perhaps  the  laying-out  of  this  very  road 
begot  disputes  transmitted  from  father  to  son. 

A  mile  beyond  the  Witch  Neighborhood  the  vVndovcr  road  crosses  the 
Newburyport  turnpike.  At  the  junction  of  the  two  roads  stands  the  old 
farm-house  in  which  Israel  Putnam,  the  "Old  Put"  of  the  lievolutionary 
army,  was  born. 

The  house,  or  rather  houses,  for  two  structures  compose  it,  is  still  occu- 


SALEM  VILLAGE,  AND  '92. 


21' 


pied  by  Putnams.  Tho  ncwor  buildiiiij,  already  old  by  comparison  with  some 
uf  its  iioiglibors,  was  built  in  1744;  tlio  original  in  1050,  or  thereabonts,  ac- 
cording to  family  tradition.  One  object,  to  which  the  attention  of  every  vis- 
itor is  directed,  is  the  old  pollard  of  enormous  girtli  standing  near  the  liouse. 
House  and  tree  seem  types  of  the  sturdy,  indomitable  old  man,  who  at  nearly 
lliveo-score  was  i'ull  of  tlie  rage  of  battle. 

l>y  the  courtesy  of  the  i'amily,  ever  ready  to  indulge  a  proper  cnriosity, 
I  locked  over  the  old  house  from  garret  to  cellar.  The  little  room  in  which 
the  general  was  born  remains  just  as  when  its  rougli-hewn  posts  and  thick 
beams  were  revealed  to  his  astonished  ijaze.  Tiiere  are  few  relies  of  the  i;en- 
eral  remaining. 


liniTIiri.ACE  OF   I'UTNAM. 


While  in  the  Wadsworth  Museum  at  Hartford,!  lately  saw  the  damaged 
sign  displayed  by  Putnam  when  lie  ke)>t  an  inn  at  Brooklyn,  Connecticut, 
about  1708.  Another  famous  soldier,  .Alurat,  was  the  son  of  an  auhevi/iste.,  and 
Napoleon  was  not  too  willing  on  this  account  to  give  him  the  hand  of  his 
sister. 

The  Putnams  settled  early  in  Salem.  John,  the  first  emigrant,  came  from 
Buckinghamshire,  in  1634,  with  three  sons,  Thomas,  Nathaniel,  and  John. 
Some  of  the  name  exercised  a  fatal  influence  during  the  reign  of  witcherafl. 
Israel  was  already  an  old  man  when  he  left  his  plow  in  the  furrow  to  gallop 
to  Cambridge,  having  been  born  in  1718.     At   twenty-one  lie   removed   to 


218 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


I'UTNAM    IN    UKITISSII    L'MFOK.M. 


Poinfret,  Connecticut.  Putnam 
was  prompt,  rcsoluto,  and  inca- 
piible  of  fear — full  of  tight,  and 
always  ready.  Washington, who 
did  not  jndye  badly,  thoiijiht 
him  the  only  lit  mun  to  make  an 
assault  on  Boston.  Though  un- 
t'ducatt'd,  Putnam  wrote  pith- 
ily, as  to  Governor  Tryon: 

"  Sir, — Nathan  Palmer,a  lieu- 
tenant in  your  liing's  servici', 
was  taken  in  my  camp  as  a  spy; 
he  was  condemned  as  a  spy ;  and 
he  sliall  be  hanged  as  a  spy. 

"P. S.  —  Afternoon.  He  is 
hantred." 


Danvcrs,  in  wliose  territory 
we  have  been  rambling,  is  an 
aggregate  of  several  widely 
scattered  villages  taken  from 
Salem  in  the  last  century.  Some  of  its  villages  have  grown  into  good-sized, 
prosperous  towns,  and  one  has  taken  the  name  of  her  eminent  banker-jdiilaii- 
thropist,  George  Peabody.  When  at  Salem,  the  visitor  may  easily  leacli 
Peabod)^  Danvers,  and  the  Witcii  Neighborhood  by  rail,  luxving  in  the  latter 
instance  a  walk  of  a  n)ile  before  liim  on  leaving  the  little  station  near  the 
Putnam  House.  In  a  circuit  of  several  miles,  embracing  what  is  to  bo  seen 
of  interest  on 
this  side,  it  is, 
perhaps,  better 
to  leave  Salem 
by  the  old  Bos- 
ton road  and  re- 
turn to  it  by  the 
Andover  high- 
way. Following 
this  route,  we 
successively  pass  ^^^ 
by  Governor  En- 
dicott's  farm,  on 
which  is  still  seen 
the     aged     pear-  enuicott  pkau  ruisis. 


SALKM  VILLAGE,  AND    1)2. 


219 


troo,  R'»le  relic  of  tlic  ancient  orclianl,'  llio  house  wliicli  became  the  Iiead- 
qiiiirtors  in  1774  of  General  Gage,  and  the  Witch  Neighborhood.  But  before 
luirrving  away  from  Peabody,  it  will  be  well  to  read  the  inscription  on  the 
iiioiiuiiiont  which  one  sees  in  the  main  street,''  examine  the  memorials  of  royal 
iiiunilicence  in  the  libi-ary  of  the  Institute,'  and,  if  the  stranger  be  of  my 
iiinid,  lo  halt  for  a  moment  before  the  humble  dwelling  in  which  IJowditch 
\v;is  born.  As  there  is  no  place  in  New  England  wiiich  so  highly  prizes  its 
;iiiti(iue  memorials  and  traditions  as  Salem,  the  first  j)erson  you  meet  will  be 
able  to  direct  you  to  the  one  or  relate  to  you  the  other. 


'  iMidicott  hnd  a  grnnt  of  three  Iinndiud  acres  on  tlie  tongue  of  land  between  Cow-house  and 
Diifk  rivers.     The  site  does  justice  to  iiis  discernment. 

-  liiiisi'd  in  18:57  to  tlie  memory  of  soldiers  of  Dnnvers  killed  in  the  battle  of  Lexington. 

'  Tlie  Queen's  portrait  by  Tilt,  the  gold  box  and  medal  presented  by  the  city  of  London  and  by 
Congress  to  Mr.  Peabody. 


PUTNAM'S  TAVEKN   SIUN. 


g--  ^;tJ«.-.--'5^^''^'^j^^~  ""  _' /^ ~~^, 

WASHINGTON   STKEET,  SALEM. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A    AVAI.K   TO    WITCH    IIIIX, 

"  Do  not  tlie  hist'ries  of  all  ages 
Relate  miiaculous  presages, 
Of  strange  turns  in  the  world's  iilfMirs, 
Foreseen  by  astrologers,  soothsayers, 
Chaldeans,  learned  genethliacs. 
And  some  tliat  have  writ  almanacs?" 

Hudibras, 

IN"  1602  Salom  may  have  contained  four  hundred  liouses.  A  few  specinicns 
of  this  time  now  remain  in  odd  corners — Ivip  Van  Winkles  or  WamUr- 
ing  Jews  of  old  houses,  that  have  outlived  their  day  of  usefulness,  aiul  would 
now  be  at  rest.  Objects  of  scbrn  to  the  present  generation,  they  have  silent- 
ly endured  the  contemptuous  flings  of  the  passer-by,  as  well,  perchance,  as  the 
frowns  and  hauglity  stare  of  rows  of  plate-glass  windows  along  the  street. 
As  well  i)ut  new  wine  in  old  bottles,  as  an  old  house  in  a  new  dress;  it  is 
always  an  old  house,  despite  the  thin  veneer  of  miscalled  improvements.  The 
architect  can  do  nothing  with  it  to  the  purpose;  the  carpenter  can  make 
nothing  of  it.  There  they  are,  with  occupants  equally  old-fashioned— of,  yet 
not  belonging  to  the  present.     Some  have  stood  so  long  in  particular  neigh- 


A  WALK   TO  WITCH   HILL. 


BIUTIU'LAC'E   OK   HA\VTIU)UXE. 


boilioods,  have 
oiillivccl  80  many 
iiHMk'in  strnc- 
luios,  as  to  be- 
come points  of 
(lirt'ctiuii,  like 
LoikIdii  Stone 
or  Cliariiig-cross. 
The  .^Hanger's 
|)uzzli'(l  <nu'Stion- 
iiig  is  often  nut 
with,"  You  know 
that  old  house  in 
such  a  street  ?" 
Ami  so  the  old 
house  helps  us  to  find  our  way  not  alone  to  the  past,  but  in  the  present. 

Undoubted  among  sueh  speeimens  as  will  be  met  with  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  wharves,  or  between  Essex  Street  and  the  water-side,  is  the  old  gani- 
lucl-roofed,  portly -ehiiuneyed  house  in  whieh  our  "Wizard  of  the  North'' 
first  drew  breath.  It  stands  in  Union  Street,  at  the  left  as  you  pass  down. 
Many  pilgrims  loiter  and  ponder  there  over  these  words: 

"  Salkm,  October  4th,  Union  Street  [Family  Mansion]. 
"Here  I  sit  in  my  old  accustomed  chamber,  where  I  used  to  sit  in  days 
i;oiie  by.  Here  I  have  written  many  tales — many  that  have  been  burned  to 
ashes,  many  that  doubtless  deserved  the  same  fate.  This  claims  to  be  called 
a  haunted  chamber,  for  thousands  upon  thousands  of  visions  have  appeared  to 
me  in  it;  and  some  few  of  them  have  become  visible  to  the  world.     If  ever 

^  .,  , _  _^ ^ ,^    ^  should  have   a 

""^^""~^^  "^  ~  ^  ^     ^  biographer,       he 

\   ought    to    make 
r^^te    great  mention  of 
^^^    this   chamber   in 
my  memoirs,  be- 
cause so  much  of 
my  lonely  youth 
was  wasted  liere, 
and      hoi'e      my 
mind  and  charac- 
ter were  formed ; 
and  hero  I  have 
been    glad    and 
auATixxii  U0US12.  hopeful,  and  here 


•>0  0 


THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


ROOM   IN   WIIKII   IIAWTUOBNE  WAS   UOUN. 


I  liave  been  ili<- 
Kpondont.  And 
hero  I  sat  a  loiiir, 
loiii^  time,  wail- 
ing patiently  for 
the  world  to  know 
me,  and  smiu'- 
tinies  wondciiiii,' 
wliy  it  di<l  not 
know  ine  soon- 
er, or  wlielluT  it 
would  ever  know 
me  at  all  —  at 
--'  least,  till  I  were 
in  my  2;rave." 

It  is  not  my  jMirpose  to  attempt  a  deseriplion  of  Sah'm,  or  of  what  is  to 
be  seen  tliere.  Her  merehants  are  prinees.  No  donbt  they  were  in  Josselyn's 
mind  when  he  saitl  some  of  the  New  Eiiglanders  were  "damnable  rich." 
Freneh  writers  of  that  day  speak  of  her  "  boim/eois  entih'cvient  richest  Those 
snbstantial  mansions  of  red  l)riek,  trec-sliaded  and  ivy-trellised,  represent 
what  Carlyle  named  the  "noblesse  of  eommeree,"  with  money  in  its  jxickct. 

Writing  in  1085  upon  the  English  invasions  of  Acadia,  Sieiir  JJergicr  thus 
cliaracterizes  Salem  and  lioston  : 

"The  English  who  inhabit  these  two  straggling  boroughs  (I)onrgmles)  arc 
for  the  greater  part  fugitives  out  of  England,  guilty  of  tlie  death  of  the  late 
king  (Charles  Stuart),  and  aeeused  of  eonspiring  against  the  reigning  sover- 
eign. The  rest  are  corsairs  and  sea-robbers,  who  have  united  themselves 
with  the  former  in  a  sort  of  independent  republic."  This  is  rather  earlier 
than  the  date  usually  fixed  for  the  planting  of  democi'aey  in  Ameiica, but  ))er- 
haps  none  too  early.  Endicott  had  then  cut  tlie  cross  from  tlie  standard  of 
England  with  liis  poniard ;  and  Charles  II.  had  been  Immbled  in  the  persons 
of  his  commissioners. 

Let  us  walk  on  througli  Essex  Street,  uidieeding  the  throng,  unniiudfid  of 
tlie  statelier  buildings,  until  we  approach  an  ancient  landmark  at  the  conic;' 
of  North  Street.  Its  claims  on  our  attention  are  twofold.  It  is  said  to  li.ivc 
been  the  dwelling  of  Roger  Williams,  for  whom  Southey,  when  rcniimlcd 
that  Wales  had  been  more  famous  ibr  mutton  than  great  men,  avowed  lie 
liad  a  sincere  respect,  yet  it  is  even  more  celebrated  as  the  scene  of  exaniiiia- 
tions  during  the  Reign  of  Terror  in  1G92.' 


'Considerable  cliaiigos  were  neeessan-  so  long  ago  as  1074 -'"."i,  wiien  it  became  tlie  proin'i'ty 
of.Ionathan  Corwin,  of  witcbcrat't  notoriety.  In  1745,  and  again  about  1772,  it  underwent  otlier 
repairs,  leaving  it  us  now  seen. 


A   WALK  TO  WITCH   HILL. 


223 


111  ;i]ipoai'ancc  the  oi-i^iiial  house  iniifht  have  been  traiisi»lantc(l  out  of  ohl 
I,((ii«liiii.  Its  jieaked  gahles,  with  piiie-Mpidc's  carved  in  wood  Kurmouiitiii>,', 
its  latticed  windows,  and  colossal  chimney,  put  it  unmistakably  in  the  af,'e  of 
nifVs,  S|i;inish  cloaks,  and  lonj;  ra])iei-s.  It  has  lonpf  been  divested  of  its  an- 
ti(|iii'  Mii-flish  diaractcr,  now  appearini^  no  more  lliaii  a  reminiscence  of  its 
ruriiicr  self  However,  from  a  recessed  area  at  the  back  its  narrow  casements 
;iiid  excrescent  stairways  are  yet  to  be  seen.  A  massive  frame,  filled  between 
willi  i»iick,  i)Iastered  with  clay,  with  the  help  of  its  tower-like  chimney,  has 
slootl  immovable  a<2;ainst  tlie  assaults  of  time,     buch  houses,  and  their  niim- 


ii;  oi.i>  wncu  uoi ; 


hor  is  not  large,  represent  the  original  forest  that  stood  on  tlie  site  of  ancient 
Siik'iu. 

.Toiialliiin  Corwin,  or  Cnrwin,  made  a  councilor  under  the  new  charter 
granted  by  King  William,  was  one  of  the  judges  before  whom  the  preliminary 
cxiuiiiiiations  were  held,  both  here  and  at  the  ^'illage.  tbivernor  Corwin,  of 
Ohio,  is  accounted  a  descendant,  as  was  the  author  of  "  The  Scarlet  Letter" 
<>t  another  witch-judge,  John  Ilatliorne.  The  reader  may  imagine  the  nov- 
elist on  his  knees  before  the  grave-stone  of  his  ancestor,  striving  to  scrape 
the  moss  from  its  half- obliterated  characters.'  Other  examinations  took 
place  ill  Thomas  Beadle's  tavern. 


'  A  scene  fruiu  life  in  the  uld  Copp'a  Hill  buriul-ground  ut  Boston. 


224 


THE  NKW  i:N(ir-ANI)  TOAST. 


11 


^»^  1^  5*iA^<  %(y^  *^^Ki*^  ^oj^tHfi  ^ujl  fx^tf^  Iq 


^xUl,  \La,  Jie^^^i  jpfn**^    tvFvcv>-  ^oj^tHfi-  At* 


plan.  t^/W'- 


FKAGMENT   OV   EXAMINATION   OF   KEUECCA  NUKSE, 

In  IlaudwritiDg  of  Rev.  Samuel  Parris." 

Knowing  tlie  world  believed  in  witchcrnft,  o\ir  horror  at  tlie  atrocilios  ot 
'92  is  moderated  by  the  probability  that  no-Mng  less  than  the  sheddinu;  ot  in- 
nocent blood  could  have  annihilated  the  delusion.     The  king  believed  in  it, 

'  In  the  library  of  Harvard  College  is  a  book  having  the  name  of  Parris  on  the  fly-lenf. 


A  WALK  lo  wrrcii  mill. 


223 


■c^^^r^ 


-'-^fe:?!!^ 


iifTmi^m^c'-'>^'~ 


■UH).MA>   JU;.Vlll,l;s   'JAVKlt.N,  Kill:.' 


tlio  sovornor  ami 
jiidm's  Itflievi'"! 
ill  ii,  !iii(l  tlif 
iiiiislsi'iisibli'  and 
li'anifil  !^avi!  uiii- 
|ik'  rrcdc'iu'o  t<» 
it.  (^uccii  Aiiiic 
wmtc  a  K'ttcr  to 
l'lii|is  tliat  sliows 
sill'  ailiiiitlc'il  il 
lis  a  tliiiiii  uii- 
i|iU'sHi>iii'l.'  'i'lii' 
clcriry,  w  itli  sin- 
gular iiiianiniity, 
icc'duiii/.t'il  it. 

The  rt-'vulsion  tliat  (ollowod  cqindcd  tlio  ])r('cii»itation  tliat  had  marked  t1\o 
])r()CL'i'(linijs.  One  of  tlio  judges  made  jiuIjIIc  eont'ession  ol"  las  error. '^  OfH- 
ci'i's  of  tlie  court  wore  perseeiited  until  the  day  of  their  death. 

Tlieie  is  one  hard,  intlexihle  cliaraeter,  that  was  never  known  to  have  re- 
k'litfd.  William  Stoughton,  lieutenant-governor,  presided  at  these  trials.  It 
is  related  that  once,  on  hearing  ofa  re]irieve  granted  some  of  the  condemned, 
ho  letl  the  bench,  exclaiming, "  We  were  in  a  way  to  have  clearecl  the  laml 
of  tlieso.  Who  is  it  obstructs  the  course  of  justice  I  know  not.  The  JA)rd  be 
iiKrciful  to  the  country." 

This  padding-faced,  sanctimonious,  yet  merciless  judge  liad  listened  to  the 
lioarldiroken  api)eals  of  the  victims,  raising  their  manacleil  hands  to  heaven 
for  that  justice  denied  them  ttpon  earth.  "I  have  got  nobody  to  look  to  but 
doil."  "There  is  another  judgment,  dear  child."  "The  Loi'd  will  not  su9er 
it.''  Others  as  })assionately  reproached  their  accusers,  but  all  were  confound- 
ed, because  all  were  believers  in  the  I'act  of  wildicrai't." 

Wlicther  Witch  Hill  be  the  lirst  or  last  place  visited,  it  is  there  Salem 
Avitclicraft  culminates.  There  is  seen,  in  approaching  by  the  railway  i'rom 
iJoston,  a  bleak  and  rocky  eminence  bestrown  with  a  little  soil.  Houses  of 
tlie  poorer  sort  straggle  n\)  its  eastern  acclivit)-,  while  the  south  and  west  faces 
ifiiiaiM  as  I'urmed  by  nature,  abrupt  and  jii'ccipitous.  The  hill  is  one  ofa  range 
slietching  away  northward  in  a  broken  line  toward  the  Mcrrimac.  On  the 
>^iiiiiinit  is  a  tolerably  level  area  of  several  acres.  Xot  a  tree  was  growing 
oil  it  when  I  was  there.     The  bleak  winds  sweep  over  it  without  hinderance. 


'She  approved  Governor  Phips's  conduct,  but  advised  tlie  utmost  moderation  and  circumspec- 
tion ill  nil  ])roceedings  for  witchcraft.  — "  Manuscript  Files." 

"  Siuuuel  Sl'wmII,  iifterwiud  cliief-.JMStice  of  tlie  Supreme  Court  of  tlie  ])roviiice. 
Seine  of  the  pins  said  to  li.ive  been  tlirust  by  witclies  iuto  ilie  bodies  of  their  victims  are  still 
preserved  in  Saiein. 

15 


'6?f 


226 


THE   IsEW   ENGLAND   COAST. 


On  the  19th  of  Julv,  1092,  an  unusual  stir  iiiiulit  have  been  observed 


III 


Saletn.  AVe  juay  supjjose  the  town  excited  beyond  any  tiling  tliat  had  heeu 
known  in  its  history.  Tlie  condemned  witches,  Sarah  Good,  Sarah  "WiUlos, 
Elizabeth  Howe,  Susannah  Martin,  and  Rebecca  Nurse,  are  to  be  liangcd  on 
(iallows  Hill. 

The  narrow  lane  in  whicli  the  common  jail  is  situated  is  thronged  witli 
knots  of  iiR'ii  and  women,  wearing  gloomy,  awe-struck  faces,  conversiii 


III 


uiu 


ler-toiies.     IJefore  the  jail  door  are  musketeers  of  the  train-band,  anuod 


and  watchful.  The  crowd  gives  way  on  tlie  ajiproacli  of  a  cart  that  stojjs  in 
front  of  tlie  jjrison  door,  which  is  now  wide  opened.  On  one  side  stands  tlic 
jailer,  witli  ponderous  keys  lianging  at  liis  girdle;  on  the  other  is  the  slieritt" 
grasjiiiig  his  staff  of  office.  The  guard  clears  a  jiassagc,  and  then  the  sheriff's 
voice  is  heard  calling  upon  the  condemned  to  come  forth. 

There  are  live  of  them,  all  women.     They  look  pale,  haggard,  despairinj^. 
At  sight  of  them  a  murmur  rip])les  through  the  crowd,  succeeded  by  sole 


inn 


still 


ness. 


As  tliev  mount  llie  cart  with  weak  and  tottering  steps — for  sonio 


are  old  and  feelile  and  gray-haired — audible  sobs  are  heard  among  the  liy- 
standers.  Glen's  lips  are  compressed  and  teeth  clenched  as  they  look  on  with 
white  faces.  All  is  ready.  The  guard  surrounds  the  cart,  as  if  a  rescue  were 
feared.  It  takes  a  score  of  strong  men,  armed  to  the  teeth,  to  conduct  five 
helpless  women  to  death  ! 

I  suppose  there  were  outcries,  hootings,  and  imprecations,  as  is  the  rahhlo's 
wont.  If  so,  I  believe  tliey  were  borne  with  tlie  resignation  and  heroism  tliat 
make  woman  the  superior  of  man  in  su})reiiie  moments.  At  last  tiie  caval- 
cade is  grouped  around  the  place  of  execution.  Tiie  gallows  and  the  fatal 
ladder  are  there,  grotesque  yet  horrible.  To  each  of  those  live  women  thoy 
meant  martyrdom,  nnd  nothing  less. 

Tlie  [»rovost-marshal  commands  silence  while  he  reads  the  warrant.  This 
formality  endeil,  he  rejilaces  it  in  his  belt.  Ex])ectation  is  intense  as  the  con- 
demned are  seen  to  take  leave  ofeacli  other,  like  jieople  who  have  done  with 
this  world.  Then  a  shiver,  like  an  electric  spark,  runs  tlirongli  tlie  ';Milti- 
tude  as  the  hangman  seizes  them,  pinions  and  blindfolds  them,  and,  in  the 
name  of  King  William  aiul  Queen  Mary,  liangs  tluin  by  the  neck  until  di'ad. 

Deinti  lea<j;iied  with  Satan,  tliev  were  denied  the  consolations  of  reli'j;ii>M 
vouchsafed  to  pirates,  murderers,  and  like  malefactors.  Poor  old  liclncca 
Nurse  had  been  led,  heavily  ironed,  up  the  broad  aisle  of  Salem  Church  tci 


be  thrust  out  of  its  co 


mmun 


ion.     At  the  scaffold  Kev.  i\[r.  Noyes,  of  Sale 


insulted  the  last  moments  of  Sarah  Good.  "You  are  a  witcli,  and  vou  know 
it,"  said  this  servant  of  Christ.  She  turned  U])on  him  fi(M'cely,  "  You  lie,  ami 
if  you  take  away  my  life  God  will  give  you  blood  to  drink.'"     That  few  of 


'  Tliis  incident  nppears  in  Ilawtliorne's  "Seven  Gables."     Tlie  tradiiion  is  tiiiu  Noycs  was 
choked  with  blood — d^ing  by  a  iieiuonhage. 


A  WALK   TO   WITCH    HILL, 


\ 

i.  i| 


INTEUlOIt  Ul"   FiUST   CULUtU 


tlie  martyrs  cliosc  to  buy  their  lives  with  a  lie  lias  ennobled  their  memories 
tor  all  time.  It  is  written  :  "■  It'  I  would  but  go  to  hell  I'or  an  eternal  moment 
ur  so,  I  might  be  knighted." 

Other  executions  took  plaee  in  August  and  September,  swelling  the  iiuni- 
hor  of  vietims  hanged  to  nineteen.  Giles  Corey  was,  by  the  old  English  law, 
IM'csscd  to  death  for  standing  nuite  when  told  to  j)lead. 

John  Adams  mentions  a  visit  lo  this  hill  in  1700,  then  called  Witeheratt 
Hill.  Somebody,  he  says,  within  a  lew  years  had  planted  a  number  of  loeust- 
tri'fs  over  tiio  t>raves.  In  1  70i5  I)r.  ]\Iorse  notes  that  the  graves  miuht  still 
he  traced.  I  felt  no  regret  at  tiieir  total  disappearance.  Would  that  the 
hlooily  eha])ter  might  as  easily  disajjpear  fnjm  history  ! 


'  Tlie  fiimii'  (if  tlie  old  First  Cliiircli  of  Sjili'in  lias  been  ineserveJ.     It  is  now  standing  in  tho 
rear  ut  I'hunnior  Hall,  a  dejiositoiy  ol'  uldcn  relics. 


IUESON's    I1()I>K,  OAKIM    UAV,  M AUIU.ICUUAI). 


CirAITKK    XVI. 


MA  ;r.i.i;iiK.\i>. 

"Loiiiiri'/iif.  Turn  up  on  your  ii<j;1it  Imiid  at  tlie  itoxt  tiiniiiif;.  luit  at  tlie  next  tiiniiiif?  nf  :il! 
oil  your  k'l't ;  marry,  at  tlie  very  next  turning,  turn  of  no  lianil,  but  turn  down  indiiertly  to  ibe 
ile\v"s  lutuse." — Merchtint  «/   Venice. 

MAl{r>LKIIKAl)  is  :i  biickbont'  of  n;r:inito,  a  vcrtclirri  f)f  sycMiito  and  |ior- 
jiliyry  thrust  out  iiitcj  ."Massacluisctts  \V,\y  in  llic  diivction  of  Cape  Ann, 
and  iK'dn-i'tl  about  with  rocky  islots.  It  is  somewhat  slieltercfl  IVom  the 
weight  of  north-t'ust  storms  by  tiio  swot'j)  of  the  cape,  wliicli  launches  it;K'If 
viyht  out  to  sea,  and  u'alhintly  receives  tiie  lirst  butVetinLTS  of  the  Atlantic. 
Tiio  ])ronionlory  of  3Iai  bleliead  may  once  have  been  a  ])roh)noati()n  of  ('ajic 
Ann,  tlie  whole  coast  hereabouts  lookinij;  as  if  the  ocean  hail  licked  nut  tlic 
sol'ter  parts,  Ie:i\  in<^  nothins;  that  was  dii^estible  behind.  This  rock,  on  wiiii'li 
a  settlement  was  beiLjun  two  hnmli'ed  and  I'orty  odd  yeai's  a'j;o,  jiciinrins  its 
])art  by  makinii  Salem  Harbor  on  one  hand,  and  another  for  its  own  shi|i|iiii;i 
on  the  east,  where  an  apjiendai^'e  known  as  Marblehcad  Xeck'  is  joined  to  it 
by  a  liiiaturo  of  sand  and  shiiiLrle.  Tlie  j)ort  is  open  to  the  north-east,  ami 
vessels  arc  sometimes  blown  from  their  anchorage  upon  the  saiul-haiiks  at 


'  Captain  Goelet  calls  it  an  islanil. 


MAKBLKIIKAD. 


22G 


<iUl£AT   hi: AD. 


aiiil 


"^"S?    the  head  of  llie  liarbor, 

tliOUi>h  the  water  is  o-en- 

^M    erally  deep  and  the  sliures 

H    buhl.     At  the  eiitraiiee  a 

^    lii,(it- house   is   built   on 

,^    the  extrenie  point  of  the 

"1    Xeek ;   and  on  a  tono-uo 

i^    of  hind  of  tlie    o])])()sitc 

::|    sliore  is  Fort  Sewall — a 

beekoninix  finger  and   a 

-;^a    clenehed  fist. 

The  harbor,  as  tlie 
"Gazetteer"  would  say, 
lias  a  general  direetion 
iVoni  north-east  to  soutli- 
wcst.  It  is  a  mile  and 
a  half  long  by  lialf  a 
mile  wide,  with  general- 
ly good  holding  ground, 
though  in  plaees  the  bot- 
tom is  rocky.  l.aTouehe 
Treville  lost  the  J/tniii- 
ojKi's  anehor  here  in  1 780, 
when  he  brouglit  over 
1  M.  De  ]^afavette,  sent  bv 
the  king  to  announce  the 
M  speedy  arrival  of  iJci- 
ehambeau's army.'  Prob- 
ably the  good  news  was 
first  proclaimed  in  the 
narrow  streets  of  Marble- 
head,  thougli  it  has  hith- 
ertc»  escaped  a  spirited  lyric  from 
some  disciple  of  Mr.  drowning. 

The  geologist  will  find  iMarble- 
liead  and  the  adjacent  islands  an  interesting 
ground,  with  some  tolerably  hard  nuts  for  his 
hammer.  The  westerly  shore  of  the  harbor  is 
indented  with  little  coves  niched  in  the  rock, 


having  each   a  number,  though   the   ^Nlarbleheaders   have    other  names 


Tro\ille  was  flic  man  tliouglit  most  worthy  by  Napoleon  to  lead  his  fleet  in  the  long-medilated 

tlcH'ciit  (111  Kiu'land. 


230 


TIIK   NEW  P:NGLAND  COAST. 


for  tlicrn.  One  or  two  wliarvcs  aro  fitted  in  tlit'se  coves,  but  T  did  not  soc 
a  vessel  unlading  or  a  bale  of  niercliandise  there.  The  flow  of  the  tide  as  it 
sucked  around  the  wooden  piles  was  the  only  evidence  of  life  about  them. 

The  varying  formations  of  these  shores  go  very  far  to  redeem  the  haggard 
landsca|)e.  Even  the  coves  (litter  in  the  materials  with  which  their  walls  are 
built,  felds|)ar,  porphyry,  and  jasper  variegating  their  rugged  features  with 
pleasing  effect.  The  floor  of  one  of  these  coves  is  littered  with  fractured  roi^k 
of  a  reddish  brown,  from  which  it  is  locally  known  as  lied  Stone  Cove.  Cap- 
tain Smith  says  this  coast  resembled  Devonshire  with  its  "tinctured  vciiies 
of  divers  colors."  The  llev.  Mr.  Iligginson,  of  Salem,  in  1G29,  speaks  of  the 
stone  found  here  as  "  marble  stone,  that  we  have  great  rocks  of  it,  and  a  har- 
bor hard  by.  Our 
plantation  is  IVdin 
thence  called  ^hn- 
ble  Harbor."  His 
marble  was  per- 
haps the  porpliy- 
ritic  rock  which 
it  resembles  wlioa 
wetted  by  sea 
moisture. 

The  beach  i:« 
the  mall  of  ^[p.r- 
blehead.  It  opens 
upon  Nahant  liiiy, 
;\iid  is  miu'h  ex- 
posed to  the  forco 
of  south-east  gak's. 
Over  this  beach  a 
causeway  Is  built, 
Avhich  iVoin  tiiuc 
to  time  has  re- 
quired extensive 
repairs.  T'lidor 
tlie  province,  ami 
as  late  even  as 
1812,  the  favdritc 
method  of  raisiii'i 
moneys  for  su''li 
purposes   was  by 

lottery,  duly  authorize(k     In  this  way  a  woi'k  of  ))ublic  necessity  was  rele- 
gated to  the  public  cupidity. 

A  run  over  the  Neck  levealed  many  points  of  interest.     There  are  rnck 


"Till-:  curuN. 


MUU5LKI1KAD. 


2;U 


cavities  of  glassy  smoothness,  worn  by  the  action  of  pobblcs,  clijisnis  tliat  ro- 
(cive  tlio  coming  wave  and  derisively  toss  it  liigh  in  air;  and  there  are  pre- 
fipitous  cliffs  which  the  old  stone-cntter  and  lapidary  can  never  blniit,  tliongh 
ho  iniiy  fret  and  fnme  forever  at  their  base.  Looking  off  to  sea,  the  eye  is 
everywhere  intercepted  by  islands  or  sunken  ledges  belted  ,  ith  surf.  They 
Imve  such  names  as  Satan,  Hoariiig  Ibdl,  Great  and  Little  Misery,  Great  and 
Mttle  Haste,  Cut-throat  Ledge,  the  Brimbles,  Cat  Island,  and  the  like.  Each 
would  iiave  a  story,  if  it  were  challenged,  how  it  came  by  its  name.  The 
iminhcr  of  these  islands  is  something  surprising.  In  fact  they  appear  like 
ii  system,  connecting  the  craggy  promontory  of  Marbleliead  with  the  capo 
tiiile.  At  some  time  the  sea  must  have  burst  through  this  rocky  barrier, 
t'lU'ryiiig  all  before  its  resistless  onset.  The  channels  are  intricate  among 
tlit'se  islands,  and  must  be  hit  with  the  nicest  precision,  or  a  strong  vessel 
Mould  go  to  pieces  at  the  first  blow  on  the  sharp  rocks. 

Tile  Xeck  is  the  peculiar  domain  of  a  transient  population  of  care-worn 
fugitives  from  the  city.  The  red-roofed  cottages  were  picturesque  objects 
iHiioiig  the  rocks,  but  Ijoi'e  marks  of  the  disorder  in  whicli  the  winter  had  left 
liioiii.  Tliey  seemed  shivering  up  there  on  the  ledges,  though  it  was  the  sev- 
enth day  of  May,  for  there  had  been  a  light  fall  of  snow,  followed  by  a  search- 
ing north-west  wind.  Not  even  a  curl  of  smoke  issued  from  the  cliimneys  to 
lake  off  the  prevailing  chilliness.  Down  at  the  harbor  side  there  was  i^n  old 
i'armstead  with  some  noble  trees  I  liked  better.  On  the  beach  I  had  trod  in 
lIa\vlhorne''s  "Footprints."  1  might  here  rekindle  Longfellow's  "  Firj  of 
Drift-wood :" 

"We  sat  witliin  the  fnrm-hoiise  old, 

Wliose  windows,  lonkiiit;  o'er  the  l>;iy, 
Gave  to  the  seii-i)rce/.e,  dump  and  cold, 

An  easy  entrance  night  and  day. 

"Not  far  away  we  saw  tlie  jiort, 

The  strange  old-fashioned  silent  town, 
The  liglit-honse,  the  disnianilcd  fort, 

The  wooden  houses  ([uaint  and  brown." 

The  light-keeper,  whom  I  found  at  liomc,  indulged  me  in  a  few  moments' 
chat.  lie  could  not  account,  he  said,  for  the  extraordinary  predilection  of  the 
biglit-house  Board  for  whitewash.  Dwelling,  covered  way,  and  tower  Avere 
each  and  all  besmeared ;  and  the  keeper  seeined  not  overconfident  that  lie 
niight  not  soon  receive  an  order  to  put  on  a  coat  of  it  himself.  lie  did  not 
ohjeet  to  the  summer,  but  in  winter  his  berth  was  not  so  pleasant.  I  already 
I'cltconvinced  of  this.  To  a  question  he  rej)lied  that  Government  estimated 
l)is  servic'i's  at  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum;  and  he  pointedly  asked  me 
liow  he  was  to  support  a  family  on  the  sti|)end  ?  Yet  he  must  keep  his  light 
ti'inuned  and  burning  ;  for  if  that  goes  out,  so  does  he. 

All  the  light-houses  are  8Uj»plied  with  lard-oil,  which  burns  without  in- 


'j;]i2 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


crusting  the  wick  of  tlic  lamp;  l)ut  llio  kocpcr  olijoctcd  that  it  was  always 
chilled  ill  cold  weatlicM',  and  tliat  he  usually  had  to  take  it  into  the  dwelling 
and  heat  it  on  the  stove  before  it  could  be  used.  A  good  deal  of  moisture 
collects  on  the  i»late-glass  windows  of  the  lantern  wlien  the  wind  is  offshore, 
but  if  it  be  otf  the  land  the  glass  is  dry.  In  very  cold  weather,  when  it  he- 
comes  coated  with  frost,  the  light  is  visible  but  a  short  distance  at  sea.  To 
remedy  this  evil,  spirits  of  wine  are  furnished  to  kcei)ers,  but  does  not  wholly 
remove  the  difficulty. 


^'  ■'Ti^f£vA--.fc???yi^..J%v. 


UKVINO    FIt*Il,  I.lTTI.i;    IIAHitOU. 


Afterward  we  spoke  of  the  commerce  of  Marblehcad.  The  only  craft 
now  in  port  were  five  or  six  ballast-lighters  that  had  wintered  in  the  up])er 
harbor;  with  this  exception  it  was  deserted.  The  keeper  had  been  master  of 
a  tishing  vessel.  I  could  not  help  remarking  to  him  on  this  ominous  state 
of  things. 

"I  have  seen  as  many  as  a  hundred  and  twenty  vessels  lying  below  us 
here,  getting  ready  for  a  cruise  on  the  Banks,"  he  said. 

"And  now?" 

"Now  there  are  not  more  than  fifteen  sail  that  hail  out  of  here." 

"So  that  fishing,  as  a  business — " 

"  Ts  knocked  higher  than  a  kite." 

Will  it  ever  come  down  again? 


MAUBLKIIKAD. 


OQf 


ill  ways 
rt-olling 
oisture 
Fslmro, 
II  il  be- 
L>a.  1 0 
wholly 


M^ 


Illy  ontY 
iho  uppi'i" 
aster  of 
lous  sUUe 


below  us 


"VVe  commisoruto  the  situation  of  an  imliviclnal  out  of  business;  wliat  shall 
we.  then,  say  of  a  town  thrown  out  of  employment  ?  liofore  the  Uevolution, 
Marbkhead  was  our  ])rincii)al  fishing  port.  When  the  war  eatne  tiiis  inJns- 
liv  was  broken  up  for  the  seven  years  of  the  eontest.  JMost  of  the  men  went 
into  the  army,  one  entin;  regiment  being  raised  here.  IMany  entered  on  board 
[iiivateers  or  the  public  armed  vessels  of  the  I'evolted  colonies.  At  tlie  close 
(if  tlie  war,  great  destitution  prevailed  by  reason  of  the  losses  in  men  tlie 
town  had  sustained;  and  as  usual  a  lottery  was  resorted  to  for  the  benefit  of 
liic  sm\  Ivors.  The  War  of  is] 2  again  drove  the  Marblehead  fishermen  from 
their  peaeeful  calling  to  man  our  little  navy.  At  its  close  five  hundred  of  her 
sons  were  in  Dritish  prisons. 

Fisheries  have  often  been  called  the  agriculture  of  the  seas.  Sir  Walter 
Ualeigh  attributed  the  wealth  and  power  of  Holland,  not  to  its  commerce  or 
carrying  trade,  but  to  its  fisheries.  Captain  John  Smith  was  of  this  opinion  ; 
so  wore  Alirabeau  and  De  Witt.  Franklin  seemed  to  ])refer  the  fisheries  of 
America  to  agricidture;  and  F^dmund  JJurke  ])aid  our  fishermen  the  noblest 
panegyric  of  them  all : 

"No  sea  but  is  vexed  by  their  fisheries.  Xo  clinnte  that  is  not  witness 
totlieir  toils,  Neither  the  ])erseverance  of  Holland,  nor  Uie  activity  of  F' ranee, 
nor  tiie  dexterous  and  firm  sagacity  of  F^nglish  enterprise  ever  carried  this 
most  i)erilous  mode  of  hardy  industry  to  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been 
imsiied  by  this  recent  people — a  people  who  are  still,  as  it  were,  but  in  the 
[iristlo,  and  not  yet  hardened  into  the  bone  of  manhood.'" 

Add  to  this  Xaj)oleon's  opinion  that  the  American  was  the  superior  of  the 
Enolish  seaman,  and  national  self-complacency  may  safely  rest  on  two  such 
eminent  authorities. 

The  light-keeper,  who  had  been  on  the  Banks,  informed  me  that  it  was 
still  the  custom,  when  lying  to  in  a  heavy  blow,  to  pour  oil  on  the  waves 
alongside  the  vessel ;  and  that  it  was  etl^ectual  in  smoothing  the  sea — not  a 
wave  breaking  within  its  influence.  Dr.  F''rankrm''s  ex])eriinents  are  the  first 
I  reinend)er  to  have  read  of.  A  single  tea-spoonful,  he  says,  quieted  the  ruffled 
surface  of  near  half  an  acre  of  water  in  a  wiixly  day,  and  rendered  it  as  smooth 
as  a  looking-glass."     This  man  would  have  triumphed  over  nature  herself. 

Without  doubt  Marblehead  owes  a  large  share  of  her  naval  renown  to  her 
tisliery ;  to  those  men  who  entered  the  sea-service  at  the  bowsprit,  like  the 
great  navigator,  Cook,  and  not  at  the  cabin  windows.  They  gave  a  distinct- 
ively American  character  to  our  little  navies  of  1776  and  1812.  Southey, 
wiiile  writing  his  "Life  of  Nelson,"  flings  down  his  pen  in  despair  to  say: 
"What  a  miserable  thing  is  this  loss  of  r  second  fi'igate  to  the  Americans. 
It  is  a  cruel  stroke;  and,  though  their  frigates  are  larger  ships  than  ours, 
must  bo  felt  as  a  disgrace,  and  in  ftxct  is  disgrace.     It  looks  as  if  there  was  a 


"Address  to  the  Electors  of  Bristol." 


"Pliilosopliiciil  Tninsuctions,''  vol.  Ixiv.,  pmt  ii. 


£34 


THE   NKW   KNGLANl)   TOAST. 


(li-y-rot  in  onr  wooden  walls.  Is  it  that  this  captain  also  is  a  youngster  hoist- 
ed up  by  interest,  or  that  the  Americans  were  manned  by  Englishmen,  or  thai 
our  men  do  not  tight  heartily,  or  that  their  men  are  better  than  ours?" 

One  writer  calls  the  lishery  "a  great  nursery  of  the  marine,  tVotii  whence 
a  constant  supply  of  men,  inured  to  the  perils  of  the  sea,  are  constantly  ready 
for  the  service  of  their  country."  Supposing  this  doctrine  correct,  it  becomes 
an  interesting  question  where  tlie  sailors  of  future  navies  are  to  come  fiDiu':' 
The  whale-fishery  has  been  fairly  beaten  out  of  the  field  by  oil-spouting  rocks. 
Why  should  we  brave  the  perils  of  the  Arctic  circle  when  by  sinking  a  tuhe 
in  PeiMisylvania  we  may  strike  a  fellow  of  a  thousand  barrels,  and  wax  rich 
while  asleep?  New  J.oiulon,  Nantucket,  New  J>edford,  and  Kdgartown  have 
answered.  The  cod  and  mackerel  fisheries  have  dwindled  into  like  insignifi. 
cance,  say  ^larblehead,  (iloucester,  and  all  fishing  ports  along  shore.  When 
these  towns,  once  so  exclusively  maritime,  found  the  fishery  slipping  ihrouyh 
their  fingers,  they  took  up  shoe-making,  and  at  present  you  will  see  plenty  of 
Crispins,  but  not  many  blue-jackets,  in  3Iarblehe:id.  Cobbling  is  now  eanicil 
on  in  the  barn-lofts,  fish-houses,  and  cottages.  Yet  this  change  of  condiliuii 
is  not  met,  as  in  the  failing  whale-fishery,  by  a  supply  from  a  different  source; 
fish  continues  to  be  as  liighly  esteemed  and  in  greater  request  than  ever;  it  is 
the  supply,  not  the  demand,  that  is  diminishing. 

There  are  some  of  those  larger  shoe-fiietories  in  the  town  where  hides  are 
received  at  the  front  door,  and  are  delivered  at  the  back,  in  an  incredibly 
short  time,  ready  for  wear.  The  young  men  1  saw  in  long  a[)rons  at  llie 
benches  liad  none  of  the  rugged  look  of  their  fathers.  Their  white  arms 
showed  little  of  the  brawn  that  comes  from  i-onstaut  handling  of  the  oar. 
The  air  of  the  workshop  was  stifiing,  and  I  gladly  left  it,  thiidcing  those 
were  hardly  the  fellows  to  stand  by  the  guns  or  reef-tackles.  One  old  man 
with  whom  I  conversed  bitterly  deplored  that  shoe-making  had  killed  tisli- 
ing,  and  had  made  the  young  men,  as  he  phrased  it,  "  nash,"  which  is  w'lat 
they  say  of  fish  that  the  sun  has  spoiled.  At  the  time  1  was  there  slioc- 
making  itself  was  suffering  from  a  depression  of  trade,  and  many  of  the  in- 
habitants appeared  to  be  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  as  to  their  future  that.  1  im- 
agine, may  become  chronic.  One  individual,  while  lamenting  the  de(  liiie  oi' 
business,  brightened  up  as  he  said,  "  Jbit  I  understand  they  an't  much  In'ttcr 
off  at  Beveriy." 

The  decline  of  the  cod-fisliery  is  attributed  to  the  use  of  trawls,  an  i  to  the 
greed  that  kills  the  goose  that  has  laid  the  golden  v';[rr.  Formerly  fi>h  were 
taken  with  hand-lines  only,  over  the  side  of  the  vessel.  Then  they  Ix.  ni  \'< 
carry  dories,  in  which  the  crew  sought  out  the  best  places.  The  men  lost  in 
fogs  or  bad  weather  while  looking  for  or  visiting  their  trawls  swell  the  list 
of  casualties  year  by  year.  Fitting  out  fishing-vessels,  instead  of  heir.g  the 
simple  matter  it  once  was,  has  become  an  affair  of  capital,  the  trawls  for  a 
vessel  sometimes  costing  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 


MAUnLKIIHAD. 


235 


Doufjlass  sjivcs  some  particulars  of  tlic'  fishery,  as  practiced  in  his  own  ami 
",t  !iii  earlier  day.  He  says  the  North  Sea  eod,  and  those  taken  on  the  Irish 
coast,  were  considered  better  than  the  American  fish,  hut  were  inadequate  to 
the  supply.  No  fish  were  considered  merchantable  in  KiiLcland  or  Ireland 
less  than  eighteen  inches  long  from  the  first  fin  to  the  beginning  of  the  tail. 
Ill  Newfoundland  they  worked  their  fish  "  belly  down ;"  in  New  England  they 
were  worked  with  their  backs  downward,  to  receive  more  salt,  and  add  to 
tliiir  weight.  The  stock-fish  of  Norway  and  Iceland  weie  c\ired  without  salt, 
liv  lianging  them  in  winter  upon  sticks  called  by  the  Dutch  "stocks" — this 
iiiMv  liiive  been  th(>  origin  of  our  duntish.     'i'lic  fish  made  in  Marblehead  for 


I'M.OADINO   Fisn. 

Spain  were  known  as  "  F>ilboa  drithe,"  and  could  be  held  out  horizontally  by 
the  tail.  Those  cured  for  the  western  market  were  called  "Albany  drithe,"' 
from  the  fact  that  Albany  was  the  head-(piarters  of  that  trade. 

T.)  (piote  from  Douglass,  ho  says:  "In  1 74r.  IMarblehead  ships  of!  more 
(liii'i;  eod  tlian  all  the  rest  of  New  England  besides.  Anno  1732  a  good  fish 
year,  and  in  profound  peace,  IMarblehead  had  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
schooners  of  about  fifty  tons  burden,  seven  men  aboard,  and  one  man  ashore 
to  make  the  fish,  or  about  one  thousand  men  employed,  besides  the  seamen 
who  carry  the  fish  to  market.  Two  hundred  quintals  considered  a  fare.  In 
1T47  tliey  have  not  exceeding  sevetity  schooners,  and  make  five  fares  yearly 
to  I.  Sables,  St.  George's  Banks,  etc." 


'2-3', 


TIIK  NKW   ENGLAND  COAST. 


M.  lioc'ht'foucaiiUl  Llancourt,  who  visiti'd  Xcw  Kiiglaiul  in  1799,  making 
ii  tour  of  the  coast  as  far  as  iho  Penobscot,  says  at  that  time  the  vessels  were 


iisiia 


lly  of 


seventv  tons,  ami  hail  a  master,  seven  seamen,  and  a  bov.     Tl 


10 


owner  had  a  quarter,  the  dryer  on  the  coast  an  eii^hth,  and  the  rest  was 
siiared  by  the  master  and  seamen,  hi  projiorlion  to  llie  lish  lliey  had  taken. 
Every  man  took  care  of  his  own  tish. 

As  early  as  1031  Governor  Matthew  C'ra(b)ck  established  a  iishiiifr  station 
at  ]\Iarblehead,  in  charcfo  of  Isaac  AlKrtoii,  whose  name  ajtpears  lii'iii  on  tho 
celebrated  compact  of  the  I'il;j;rims,  siy;neil  at  Cape  Cod,  Xovember  I  1th,  lilJO.' 
^Vinthrop  mentions  in  his  jinirnal  that  as  the  Ai'dfjilln  was  standing;  in  fctr 
Xanndceag,  on  the  12th  olMiine,  lOliO,  Mr.  Allerton  boai'ded  her  in  a  sliall(i|i 
as  he  was  sailintj  to  reina(iuitl.  .Moses  3Iaverick  lived  at  Marbleliead  with 
Allerton,  and  married  his  daughter  Sarah.  In  1035  AUei'ton  conveyed  to  liis 
son-indaw  all  the  honses,  bnildinjjjs,  and  stages  he  had  at  Miirblehead.     In  1038 


jNIoses  was  licensed  to  sell  a  tnn  of  wine  a  vear. 


V 


In  Winthrop's  "  Jonrn:d,"  nnder  tlie  date  of  1033,  is  the  following  witli 
reference  to  this  plantation  :" 

'■'•J'V.hnatri/  1. — ]Mr.  Ciadock's  house  at  Marblehead  was  burnt  down  about 
inidnight  before,  there;  being  then  in  it  ]Mr.  Allerton,  and  many  lislu'rincu 
whom  he  employed  that  season,  who  all  were  j)reserved  by  a  special  provi- 
dence of  God,  with  most  of  his  goods  therein,  by  a  tailor,  who  sat  up  liiat 
night  at  work  in  the  house,  and,  heai'ing  a  noise,  looked  out  and  saw  the  house 
on  tire  above  the  oven  in  tin;  thatch.'" 

While  retracing  my  steps  back  to  town,  T  pictured  the  harbor  in  its  day 
of  prosperity.  A  hundred  sail  would  have  given  it  a  degree  of  animation 
quite  marvelous  to  see.  Six  hours  a  hinidred  sharp  prows  point  up  the  !:ar- 
boi',  and  six  they  look  out  to  sea.  Above  the  tapering  forest  of  equal  growth 
are  thrust  the  crossed  spars  of  shi])s  from  Cadiz,  in  Spain.  Innumerable  wher- 
ries dart  about,  vowed  by  two  men  each;  they  are  strongly  built,  for  baitinii; 
trawls  on  the  banks  and  in  a  sea  is  no  child's  play.  The  cheery  cries,  rattlini;' 
of  blocks,  and  imiversal  bustle  aboard  the  fleet  announce  the  preparations  for 
sailing.     At  the  top  of  the  flood  up  go  a  score  of  sails,  and  round  go  as  many 


'  A  headland  of  Boston  Harbor  is  named  for  liiiu.  Point  Allerton. 

"  "Moses  Maverick  testifietli  that  in  the  yeare  1040  or  41  tiie  tonne  of  Salem  pranted  unto  the 
iii1ial)itants  of  Marl)leheail  the  land  we  now  injoy,  with  one  of  Salem,  to  act  with  us,  w''  acordiiigly 
was  acordiiigly  attended  unto  the  yeare  1048,  in  which  yearo  Marhlchead  was  confirmed  a  loinie, 
and  to  that  time  y'  never  knew  or  understood  he  desented  from  what  was  acted  in  layeing  cni  laiul 
or  stintinj;  the  Comons,  and  have  beene  accounted  a  Toune,  and  payd  dntyes  accord iiijjly  as  ii  iuitli 
been  reciiiired.     'I'aken  vpon  oath  ;   11):  Imo  4"-.  AVm.  Hatiioum;,  4//''- 

"  (Original  Documeut.)  Vera  (Njpiii,  taken  the  '25  of  Mmv,  1074, 

by  me,  Uobcrt  Ford,  Cleric." 

'  Relics  of  Indian  occupation  have  been  found  in  Mmbleheail  at  various  times.  There  is  a  bhcli 
heap  on  the  Wyman  Farm,  on  the  lino  of  the  Eastern  liailway,  quite  near  the  farm-house. 


MAUIJLI'.IIKAD. 


237 


wimllasscs  to  a  rattliiiii;  <'li(inis.  Anchors  art'  liovo  short  in  a  trice.  Tlit- 
vcs^i  N  I'wfX  uiulcr  way  draw  out  IVoiii  among  the  Heet,  char  the  mouth  ol'tlH' 
l::i)l)iir,  ami  ill  a  (cw  minutes  inoro  are  Hinging  the  seas  i'ruiu  their  bows  with 
Marljiciicad  IJght  well  under  their  lee. 

I  do  uot  know  who  first  discovered  .MarhUhead.  The  vagne  idea  asso- 
ciates it  wilh  a  lieap  of  sterile  rocks,  iniiahited  l»y  lisherinen  speaking  an  uii- 
iiitc'llii4il»lo  jargon.  Thougii  not  iwt'nty  iniK's  iVoni  the  New  Kngland  nielro|i- 
(dis,  and  notwithstanding  its  piist  is  interwoven  with  every  page  of  our  his- 
toric limes,  less  is  known  of  it  than  would  seem  eiedihle  to  tin'  intelligent 
luailtT.     A  i'uitLful  chroniele  ol'  its  i'urtiines  would,  no  donht,  be  suHIeienlly 


*  '^ 


A    UHOei'  Ol'    AMUiUES. 

oiM'ioii  ,  tliougli  many  would,  I  fear,  ])rcfer  the  stories  of  Tyro  and  Carthage. 
But  Marhlehead  is  uni<pie ;  there  is  nothing  like  it  on  tliis  side  of  the  water. 

I  was  s^'uek,  on  entering  the  ])laee,  wilh  Whilelield's  observation  when  Ik 
!isked  where  the  dead  were  buried  ;  for  the  great  want  appears  to  bo  earth. 
l>ut  a  finther  acquaintance  revealed  more  pleasant  inclosures  of  turf,  orchards, 
iiiul  garden-spots  than  its  gaunt  crags  seemed  ca])able  of  sustaining.  The 
town  may  be  said  to  embrace  two  very  dissimilar  portions,  of  which  the 
laiger  appears  ])aralyzed  with  age,  and  the  other  the  outgrowth  of  a  newer 
and  more  thriving  generation.     It  is  with  the  old  town  I  have  to  do. 

I  i»referrcd  to  comuiit  myself  to  the  guidance  of  the  narrow  streets,  and 
ihilt  about  wherever  they  listed.     The  stranger  need  not  try  to  settle  his 


"wm 


238 


TIIK   Ni:\V   KNCLANl)   TOAST. 


t(>|io<^ra])liy  bcforeliiiinl.  He  woiiUl  lose  liis  laboi-.  It  was  only  after  a  tliinl 
visit  tliat  I  bej^aii  to  have  some  notions  of  the  maze  of  roeky  hiiies,  alleys,  and 
courts.  Caprice  seemed  to  have  i^overned  the  locati(»ii  of  a  majority  of  ilio 
honses  by  the  water-side,  ami  the  streets  to  have  adjnsteil  themselves  to  tlio 
wooden  anarchy;  or  else  the  idea  forced  itself  upon  you  that  the  houses  nnisl 
have  been  stranded  here  by  the  Hood,  remaining  wliere  the  subsidin<r  waters 
left  them;  for  they  stand  anywheie  and  nowhere,  in  a  ravine  or  atop  a  clilV, 
crowding  upon  and  elbowing  each  other  until  no  man,  it  wouM  si'em,  minlit, 
know  his  own.  How  one  of  Liu)se  ancient  mariners  rolling  heavily  hoMuwaiil 
after  a  night's  carouse  couid  have  found  his  own  dwelling,  is  a  mystery  1  do 
not  inideitake  to  solve. 

M.  ])e  Chastellux,  who  had  a  compliment  ready-made  for  every  lliinjj 
American,  was  accosted  when  in  Boston  with  the  remark, 

".Marcjuis,  you  lii;!!  a  crooked  city  in  IJoston?" 

"Ah,  ver  good,  ver  good,"  said  the  chevalier;  "  it  show  <le  llhcrtr.'''' 

I  found  Washington  Street  a  good  base  of  oi)erations.  A  modern  dwelliiin; 
is  rarely  met  with  between  this  thoroughlare  and  the  water.  On  State  (for- 
merly King)  Street  there  is  but  one  house  less  than  a  century  old,  and  tlie 
franie  of  that  one  was  being  raised  the  day  Washington  came  to  town.  Kveii 
be  was  struck  by  the  anti(iinited  look  of  the  buildings.  The  long  exemption 
from  fire  is  little  less  than  miraculous,  for  a  building  of  brick  or  stone  is  an 
exception.  (Hd  houses,  gambrel-roofed,  hip-roofed,  and  pitch-roofed,  with  an 
occasional  remiui cence  of  London  in  Milton's  day,  are  ranged  on  all  sides; 
little  altered  in  a  hundred  years,  though  I  should  have  liked  better  to  have 
chanced  this  way  when  the  porches  of  some  were  projecting  ten  feet  into  tlie 
street.  I  enjoyed  losing  myself  among  them  ;  for,  certes,  there  is  more  of  ihu 
crust  of  anti(iuity  about  ^Farblehead  than  .any  jtlace  of  its  years  in  America. 

An  air  of  snug  and  substantial  comfort  hung  about  many  of  the  older 
houses,  and  some  localities  betokened  there  was  an  uj)per  as  well  as  a  nollicr 
stratum  of  society  in  Marblehead.  Fine  old  trees  flourished  in  secluded  neigh- 
borhoods, where  the  brass  door-knockers  shone  with  unwonted  lustre.  I  think 
my  fingers  itched  to  grasp  them,  so  suggestive  were  they  of  feudal  times  wlion 
stranger  knight  suuuuoned  castle-warden  by  striking  with  his  sword-hilt  on 
the  oaken  door.  Fancy  goes  in  unbiilden  at  their  portals,  and  roves  among 
their  cramped  corridors  and  best  rooms,  peering  into  closets  where  choice 
(ddna  is  kept,  or  rummaging  among  the  curious  lumber  of  the  garrets,  the  ac- 
cumulations of  many  generations.  On  the  whole,  the  dwellings  represent  so 
far  as  they  may  a  singular  equality  of  condition.  It  is  only  by  turning  into 
some  court  or  by-way  that  you  come  unexpectedly  upon  a  mansion  having 
about  it  some  relics  of  a  former  splemlor.  Though  Marblehead  has  its  IJil- 
lingsgate,  I  saw  nothing  of  the  scpnilor  of  our  larger  cities;  and  though  it 
may  have  its  Rotten  Row,  I  remarked  neither  lackeys  nor  showy  equipages. 

There  are  few  sidewalks  in  the  older  quarter.     The  streets  are  too  nar- 


MAKHLKIIKAI). 


239 


row  1i»  afTord  sucli  a 
luxury,  averaging,  I 
slioiild  say,  not  nion; 
tliiiii  a  rod  in  widtli 
ill  till'  (iMcr  ones,  with 
ImivIv  room  i'or  a 
siii^li'  vc'liiclc.  The 
]iassi'r-l)y  may,  if  he 
pleases,  look  into  the 
tiisl  -  floor  Kittinjj;- 
rooms,  and  see  tin 
family  gathered  a 
its  tisii;il  (»c'enj)ations 
Wlicllicr  it  be  a 
u'lvater  iiidiseretioii 
ti  look  ill  at  tlie 
windows  tlian 
to  look  out  of 
llu'iii,  as  tiie 
niatroiisand 
maidens  are 
ill  tiie  liah- 
,il     of     do- 


ing wlien  a 


stranger    is 

ill  tlie  neighborhood,    ,^. 
is  a  question  I  will- 
ingly remand  to  the 
liecision  of  my  read- 
ers; yet  I  confess  I  fouii 
tlic  temptation  too  stroii 
to  lie   resisted.     In   on 
to  protect  those  houses 
the  street  corners,  a  ni; 
ive  stone  post  is  often  s( 
iiuliedded  in  the  groui 
I'lit  to  give  them  a  wide 
is  impossible,  and  I  lool 
Imsiiiess   to   be  brisk    i 
wheelwright's  shop. 

Again,  as  the  street 
ii  ti'dge  in  its  way,  one  side  of  it         T^ 
mounts  the  acclivity,  ten,  twenty 


LEE  STUEEl. 


240 


TIIK    NF.W  KNGLAND   COAST. 


feet  above  your  licad,  wliile  the  other  keeps  the  level  as  before.  Sucli  acci- 
dental lookiii<>;-(lo\vn  upon  tlioir  nciglibors  does  not,  perha],,-!,  argue  moral  nr 
material  ])re-enuiK'nc'(';  but,  Ibi*  all  that,  thei'e  may  be  a  shilling  side.  Om- 
thing  about  these  old  houses  impressed  me  pleasantly;  though  many  of  tlii'iii 
■\vere  guiltless  of  paint,  anel  on  some  rooi's  mosses  had  heguii  to  creep,  ami  a 
yellow  rust  to  cover  the  ela])boai'ds,  there  were  few  windows  that  did  not 
boast  a  goodly  shovr  of  scarlet  gcTaniums,  fuchsias,  or  mignonnclte,  with  ivy 
clustering  lovingly  about  the  frames,  making  the  dark  old  casements  blos- 
som again,  and  glow  with  a  wealth  of  warm  color. 

I  was  too  well  ac»piaiiited  with  maritime  towns  to  be  surprised  at  fi'.'.diiiii 
fishing-boats,  even  of  a  few  tons  burden,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  water. 
They  might  even  be  said  to  crop  out  with  remarkable  frecpiency.  Some'  wciv 
covered  with  boughs,  their  winter  ])rotection  ;  others  were  being  palcliod, 
]>!iinted,  or  calked,  preparatory  for  launching,  with  an  assidui; ;;  and  solicittido 
that  can  only  be  ai)preciated  by  the  t)wners  of  such  craft.  On  the  street  that 
skirts  t!ie  harbor  I  saw  a  fisherman  just  landed  enter  his  cottage,  "  payiii;^ 
out,"  as  he  went,  from  a  coil  of  rope,  one  end  being,  I  ascertained,  fastened  tu 
his  wherry.  I  reutember  to  have  seen  in  ^Mexico  the  cdqKero.s,  on  alighting' 
from  tlu'ir  mules,  take  from  the  pomnud  of  their  saddles  some  fathoms  of 
braided  hair-rojie,  calletl  a  lariat,  and,  on  entering  a  shop  or  dwelling,  uncoil 
it  as  they  went.  The  custom  of  these  ^larblchcad  lisliermen  seemed  no  less 
ingenious. 


I 


M 


a  sea-])ort  my  instim>t  is 


for  tl 


le  w 


ater.     I  liav(>  a  i)redi!ection  for  tii^ 


wharves,  and,  though  I  could  wcdl  enough  dispense  with  their  smells,  for  tlicir 
sights  and  sounds.  The  cross-ways  in  ]\rarblehead  seem  in  search  of  tiic 
harbor  as  they  go  wriggling  about  the  ledges.  I  should  say  they  had  been 
formed  on  the  ancient  f)otpaths  leading  down  to  the  fishing  stages.  At  the 
head  of  one  pier,  half  imbedded  in  the  earth,  was  an  old  honey-combed  cannon 
that  looked  as  if  it  might  have  spoken  a  word  in  the  disjjute  with  the  mother 
country,  but  now  played  the  part  of  a  capstan,  and  truant  boys  were  castiiiu 
dirt  betwec  1  its  blistered  lips.  In  Red  Stone  Cove  there  lay,  stranded  and 
broken  in  two,  a  long-boat,  brought  years  ago  from  China,  perhaps,  on  the  dock 
of  some  Indiaman.  Its  build  was  outlandish;  so  uidike  the  wherries  that 
M'ero  by,  yet  so  like  the  craft  that  swim  in  the  turbid  Yang  Tsc>.  I  took  a 
seat  ill  it,  and  was  carried  to  the  laml  of  pagodas,  opium,  and  manduriiis. 
Its  sheathing  of  camphor- wood  still  exhaled  the  i)ungeut  odor  of  the  aro- 
matic tree.  On  either  cpiarter  was  painted  an  enormous  eye  that  seeincd 
to  follow  you  about  the  strand.  In  all  these  voyages  some  part  of  the  Old 
Worhl  seems  to  have  drifted  westward,  and  attached  itself  to  the  shores  of 
the  New.  Here  it  was  a  Portuguese  IVom  the  Tagus,  or  a  Spaniard  cd"  Ali- 
cante:  elsewhere  a  Xorwenian,  Swede,  or  Finn,  irraficd  on  a  straiiLCe  diiiu 


and 


w 


•iy 


of  lif 


The  men  I  saw  about  the  wharves,  in  woolen  "jumpers"  and  heavy  lish 


MAHBLEIIKAD. 


241 


ch  acei- 
noval  or 

of  ihcm 
'j>,  and  a 

dill  not 
with  ivy 
iits  bios- 


ill!,'  boots,  bad  tlie  true  "guinoa-staini)"  of  tlic  old  Ironsides  of  the  sea.  To 
see  tliose  lumbering  fishermen  in  the  streets  you  would  not  think  they  could 
lie  so  liandy,  or  tread  so  lightly  in  a  dory.  I  saw  there  an  old  foreign-looking 
seaman,  one  of  those  fellows  with  short,  bowed  legs,  drooping  shoulders,  con- 
tracted eyelids,  and  hands  dug  in  their  pockets,  who  may  be  met  with  at  all 
lioura  of  the  day  and  night  hulking  about  the  quays  of  a  shipping  town. 
This  man  eyed  the  preparations  of  amateur  boatmen  with  the  contemptuous 
cariosity  often  vouchsafed  by  such  personages  in  the  small  affair  of  getting  a 
pleasure-boat  under  way.  One  poor  fellow,  who  kept  a  little  shop  where  lie 
could  hear  the  wash  of  the  tide  on  the  loose  pebbles  of  the  cove,  told  me  he 


TLCKEU'S   WUAUF— THE  STEPS. 

liad  lost  his  leg  by  the  cable  getting  a  turn  round  it.  Thongli  they  have  a 
iDiijfh  outside,  these  men  liave  hearts.  His  skipper,  he  said,  had  put  about, 
though  n,  was  a  dead  loss  to  him,  and  sailed  a  hundred  miles  to  land  his  mi- 
tilatcd  shipmate. 

How  did  Marblehead  locdv  in  the  olden  time?  Its  early  history  is  allied 
with  that  of  Salem,  of  wliich  it  formed  a  ]iart  niitil  1048.  Francis  lligginson, 
who  came  over  in  1020  says,  in  that  year,  "There  are  in  all  of  us,  both  old 
;iiid  iK'w  planters,  about  three  lunidred,  whereof  two  hundred  of  them  are  set- 
tk'il  ;\t  Xc'humkek,  now  called  Salem;  and  the  rest  have  ]danted  themselves 
at  Matitliuk'ts  Jjay,  beginning  to  build  a  town   there   wliich  wee  do  call 

10 


242 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Chcrton  or  Charles  Town."  His  New  Eiiglaiul's  "Plantation"  is  curious 
reading.  I  have  observed  in  my  researches  that  these  old  divines  are  often 
fond  of  drawing  the  long  bow,  a  failing  of  which  Iligginson,  one  of  the  oarlii'st, 
seems  conscious  when  he  asks  in  his  exordium,  "  Shall  such  a  man  as  I  lye? 

No,  verily  !" 

William  Wood,  describing  the  place  in  10.^3,  says  of  it:  "Marvil  Head  is 
a  place  which  lyeth  4  miles  full  south  from  Salem,  and  is  a  very  convenient 
place  for  a  plantation,  especially  for  such  as  will  set  upon  the  trade  of  {isliinsr. 
There  was  made  here  a  ship's  loading  of  fish  the  last  year,  where  still  stand 
the  stages  and  drying  scattblds."  In  10;35,  the  court  order  that  "there  sIiuHk' 
a  Plantacion  at  3Iarblehead." 

John  Josselyn  looked  in  here  in  IGG;].     "Marvil,  or  Marbleliead,"  he  says, 


".  is  "  a  small  harbour,  the  slioi'o 
rockie,  on  vhich  the  town  is 
built,  consisting  of  a  few  scat- 

OKEGOUV    8TKEET.  ,    ,  "  ,  , 

tered  liouses;  Iiere  they  liiivi' 
stages  for  fishermen,  orchards,  and  gardens  half  a  mile  within  land,  good  pav 
lures,  and  arable  land." 

It  had  now  begun  to  emerge  from  the  insignificance  of  a  fishing  villain'. 
and  to  assume  a  i)lace  among  the  number  of  maritime  towns.  In  1000  ;i 
French  spy  makes  report:  "  ]\rarvalet  est  compose  de  100  ou  120  niuisoii> 
pescheurs  oh  il  pent  entrer  de  gros  vaisseaux." 

In  l707-'8  ]Marbk'head  was  represented  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  as  a  sniii!:- 
gliiig  port  for  IJoston,  for  which  it  also  furnished  j)ilots.  A  iiiw  years  carlici' 
(1704)  (Jiielch,  the  pirate,  had  been  apprehended  there,  after  liaving  soattcri'd 
his  gold  right  and  left.  Jiut  it  was  not  until  an  order  had  come  ironi  tlio 
(lovernor  and  Council  at  Boston  that  he  was  arrested,  nor  had  there  been  a 


MAKI5LEHEAD. 


243 


province  law  against  piracy  uiilil  williiu  a  IV'W  years.'  Seven  of  Qiielch's 
ganj;'  were  taken  by  Major  Stepiien  Sewall ;  ami  the  inliabitants  of  ]Marble- 
head  wei-e  reqnired  to  bring  in  the  gold  coin,  melted  down,  and  silver  plate 
tlu'V  liad  not  been  unwilling  to  receive. 

h  was,  no  doubt,  owing  to  the  lawless  habits  introduced  that  the  charac- 
ter tif  the  sea-faring  population  partook  of  a  certain  wildness — such  as  good 
I'arson  IJarnard  inveighs  against  —  manifesting  itself  in  every-day  transac- 
tions, and  infusing  into  the  men  an  adventurous  and  reckless  spiiit  which 
littcil  lliem  in  a  measure  lor  deeds  of  daring,  and  gave  to  the  old  sea-port  no 
i^iuall  portion  of  the  notoriety  it  enjoys. 

]Mr.  liarnard  speaks  of  the  earlier  class  of  fishermen  as  a  rude,  swearing, 
fiu'litiiig,  ami  drunken  crew.  The  llev.  Mr.  AV'hitwell,  in  his  discourse  on  the 
(lisiistcTs  of  1 770,  does  not  give  them  a  better  character.  "  Xo  wonder,"  he  says, 
"tliL'  children  of  r.;'ch  parents  imitate  their  vices,  and,  when  they  return  from 
tliL'ir  voyages,  have  earned  to  curse  and  damn  their  younger  brothers."  He 
continues  to  pour  balm  into  their  wounds  in  this  wise  :  "  We  hope  we  shall  hear 

no  more  cursing  or  profaneness  from  your  mouths Instead  of  s|)ending 

vonr  time  in  those  nnmanlv  uames  which  di^jrace  our  children  in  tiie  streets, 
we  trust  you  will  be  rieriously  concerned  for  the  salvation  of  your  souls." 

Austin,  in  'iis  "Life  of  Elbridge  (4erry,"  speaks  of  the  fishermen  as  a  sober 
;nul  industrious  class;  but  the  testimony  of  local  historians  is  wholly  opposed 
to  Ills  nsseition.''  They  j)assed  their  winters  in  a  round  of  reckless  dissipa- 
tion, or  until  the  arrival  of  the  fishing  season  set  half  the  town  afloat  again. 
It  vas  tlien  left  in  the  hands  of  the  women,  the  elders,  and  a  few  merchants. 
Tln.ro  is  much  in  the  annals  of  such  a  community  to  furnish  materials  for  his- 
tory, or,  on  a  lesser  scale,  hints  for  romance.  Captain  Goelet,  who  was  here 
in  1750,  estimated  the  town  to  contain  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  liouses. 

" Tlicv  were. "  he  sni'l,  "all  wood  and  di>])l)onr(le(l,  tlio  genenility  iniseralile  Imildiugs,  mostly  close 
ill  witli  iliu  rocks,  with  rocky  foundations  very  Cra<:;y  and  Crasey.  The  whole  towue  is  hiiilt 
111)011  a  rock,  wliicii  is  liei;:ii  and  steep  to  the  water.  The  harhonr  is  slieltercd  hy  an  island,  wliich 
nins  along  ])arallel  to  it  and  brakes  off  the  sea.  Vessells  may  ride  here  very  safe ;  tiiere  is  a 
jiiitli  or  way  downe  to  the  warf,  which  is  but  small,  and  on  wliich  is  a  large  Ware  House  where 
iliny  liiiul  iheir  fish,  etc.  From  tliis  heigh  Cliffty  shore  it  took  its  name.  I  saw  ab'  5  topsail  ves- 
sels atiil  ab'  in  scliooners  or  shjojis  in  tlie  harbour;  they  iiad  tlien  nl)'  70  sail  schooners  a-fisliing, 
"illi  about  0(10  men  and  Hoys  imiiloyd  in  the  tisliery  :  they  take  vast  ([iiaiititys  Cod,  wliich  they 
line  licere.  Saw  several  thousand  Hakes  tlien  ciirciiig.  The  i)laee  is  noted  for  ("hildreii,  and 
Nimiiclics  the  most  of  any  jilace  for  its  bigness  in  North  America  ;  it's  si'.id  the  chief  cause  is  attrib- 
iiteJ  to  their  feeding  on  C'od"s  heads,  etc.,  which  is  their  I'rincipall  Dish.  Tiie  greatest  distaste  a 
Iierson  has  to  this  jilace  is  the  stench  of  the  fisli,  the  whole  air  seems  tainted  with  it.  It  may  in 
slioit  he  said  it's  u  Dirty  Erregidar,  Stincking  place.'"' 


'  A  hill  against  piracy  was  ordered  to  be  brought  in  March  tst,  IfiSfi ;  March  4tli  tlio  bill  passed. 
Tlie  first  mention  of  Marblehead  in  the  colony  records  I  have  seen  is  of  two  men  fined  there 
fur  being  drunk,  in  the  year  1083. 

*  "New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  llegistcr,"  1870,  p.  r»7. 


244 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


The  fortunes  of  tlie  ])lace  were  now  greatly  altered.  The  obscure  fisliincr 
village  IkhI  become  a  bustling  port,  with  rich  cargoes  from  Spain  and  tho 
Antilles  lying  M'itliin  its  rock-bound  shores.  Ships  were  being  built  in  the 
coves,  and  i^ubstuntiul  jnansions  were  going  up  in  the  streets — in  whose  cel- 
lars, as  I  have  heard,  were  kei;s  of  hard  dollars,  salted  down,  as  one  might  saj', 
like  the  stajde  of  Marblehead. 

John  Adams,  then  a  young  lawyer  on  the  circuit,  enters  in  his  diary,  under 
date  of  170G,  the  brief  impression  of  a  frst  visit  to  Marblchead  : 

"  14,  Tlmrsdinj. — In  tlic  niorniiig  rode  a  single  horse,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Crnnch  and  Mrs. 
Adams,  in  a  chaise  to  Marl)ieliead.  The  road  tVoni  Salem  to  Marl)lehoad,  four  miles,  is  jiluasiiiu 
indeed  (so  I  found  it).  The  grass  jilats  and  fields  are  delightful,  but  Marblehead  ditlers  fioin  .Sa- 
lem.    The  streets  are  narrow  and  rugged  and  dirty,  but  there  are  some  very  grand  buildings." 

As  John  Adams  saw  it  so  does  the  stranger  of  to-day,  ignoring  such  mod- 
ern improvements  as  railway,  gas-works,  telegraph,  and  factories,  and  sticking 
closely  to  the  skirts  of  the  old  town. 

I  should  say  I\[arblehead  might  still  assert  its  title  to  the  number  of  chil- 
dren it  "  nourishes."  Certainly  they  seemed  out  of  all  |)roportion  to  the  isMilt 
population.  Instinct  guides  them  to  the  water  from  their  birth,  and  thoy  may 
be  seen  paddling  about  the  harbor  in  stray  wherries  or  clambering  up  the 
rigging  of  some  collier,  in  emulation  of  their  elders.  Even  their  talk  has  a 
salty  flavor.  I  recollect  an  instance,  which  must  lose  by  the  relation.  A 
young  scape-grace  having  iucuri'ed  the  maternal  disj)leasure,  and  then  taken 
to  his  heels  to  escape  chastisement,  the  good-wife  gave  chase,  brandishinu;  a 
broomstick  aloft,  and  breathing  vengeance  on  her  unnatural  offspi'ing.  Hav- 
ing the  wind  fair  and  a  heavy  spread  of  ])etticoat,  she  was  rapidly  gaining 
on  the  youngster,  when  a  comrade,  who  was  watching  the  progress  of  the 
race  with  a  critical  eye,  bawled  out,  "Try  her  on  the  wind.  Bill;  try  her  on 
the  win(7y 

A  sailor  on  shore  is  not  unlike  Xapoleon's  dismounted  dragoon  :  he  is  em- 
phatically a  fish  out  of  water.  One  talked  of  "  making  his  horse  fast;"  an- 
other complained  that  his  neckerchief  was  "tew  taut;"  and  a  third  could  not 
understand  which  way  to  move  a  boat  until  his  companion  called  out, ''Jlaul 
to  the  west'ard,  can't  ye  ?" 

If  not  insular,  your  geiu'ine  ^NFarbleheader  is  the  next  thing  to  it.  The 
rest  of  the  world  is  merged  with  him  into  a  place  to  sell  his  fish  and  huy  his 
salt.  Even  Salem,  IJeverly,  and  the  jiarts  adjacent  draw  but  little  on  his  syin- 
j)athy  or  his  fellowship:  in  short,  they  are  not  INIarblehead.  During  the  Na- 
tive American  excitement  of  18 — ,  the  Marbleheaders  entered  into  the  move- 
nient  with  enthusiasm.  A  caucus  being  assembled  to  nominate  town  officers, 
one  old  fisherman  came  into  the  town  liall  in  his  baize  apron,  just  as  he  had 
got  out  of  his  dory.  He  glanced  over  the  list  of  officers  with  an  approving 
grunt  at  each  name  until  he  came  to  that  of  Scjuire  Fabens.  Now  Stpiire 
Fabens,  though  a  Salem  man  born,  had  lived  a  score  of  years  iu  Marblehcail, 


MARBLEIIEAD. 


245 


had  mrirried,  and  held  office  tlicrc.  Tuniinj?  wratlifiilly  to  llie  jicrson  wlio 
lijul  given  liina  the  ticket,  the  fishcnnan  tore  it  in  pieces,  exchiiining  as  he  did 
so,  "D'ye  call  that  a  Native  American  ticket?  Why,  there's  Squire  Fabens 
on  il;  he  aji't  a  IMarblehcader !" 

Tlioiio-h  it  is  true  there  are  few  instances  of  the  fatal  straight  line  in  Mar- 
bleliead,  those  who  are  native  there  are  iiir  from  appreciating  the  impression 
its  narrow  and  crooked  ways  make  on  the  stranger.  Tliey,  at  any  rate,  ap- 
jioarod  to  find  their  way  without  the  difficidty  I  at  first  experienced.  I  asked 
one  I  met  if  I  was  in  the  right  route  to  the  depot.  "Go  straight  ahead," 
was  his  injunction,  a  direction  nothing  but  a  round-shot  from  P'ort  Sewall 
could  have  followed.  IJnt  I  should  add  that  Marblehead  is  not  a  labyrinth, 
any  more  than  it  is  a  field  for  mis- 
sionary work:  it  has  churches,  banks, 
schools,  a  newspaper,  and  even  a  de- 
baling  society;  and  it  has  thorough- 
fares that  may  be  traversed  without  a 
guide. 

The  great  man  of  ]\rarblehcad  in 
the  colonial  day  was  Colonel  Jeremiah 
Leo,  whose  still  elegant  mansion  is  to 
bo  soon  there.  Uidike  many  of  the 
gentry  of  his  time.  Colonel  Lee  was  a 
thorough-going  patriot.  He  was,  with 
Ornc  and  (ierry,  a  delegate  to  the  first 
and  second  Provincial  Congresses  of 
1774.  When  the  famous  Kevolution- 
aiy  Committee  of  Safety  and  Supplies 
was  formed,  he  became  and  continued 
a  moniber  until  his  death  in  May,  1V75. 
Colonel  Ia'c  was  with  the  committee 
on  tlio  day  beibre  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  with  Gerry  and  Orne  remained 
to  pass  the  night  at  the  Black  Horse  tavern  in  Menotomy,  now  Arlington. 
Whiou  the  IJritish  advance  reached  this  house  it  was  surrouiuled,  the  half- 
(Irossod  patriots  having  barely  time  to  escape  to  a  neighboring  corn-field, 
where  they  threw  themselves  upon  the  ground  until  the  search  was  over. 
I'l'otn  the  exposure  incident  to  this  adventure  Lee  got  his  death.  Tlis  towns- 
men lieasure  his  memory  as  one  of  the  men  who  formed  the  Kevolution, 
braved  its  dangers,  and  accepted  its  responsibilities.  Colonel  Lee  was  a 
i^lanoh  ehurchman,  which  nuikes  his  adhesion  to  the  patriot  side  the  more 
I'cmaikable. 

There  is  nothing  about  the  exterior  of  the  Lee  mansion  to  attract  the 
strangor's  attention,  though  it  cost  the  colonel,  when  furnished,  ten  thousand 
pounds  sterling.     As  Avas  customary,  its  offices  were  on  one  side  and  its  sta- 


LKIC   HOISE. 


246 


THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


bk'S  on  the  otlier,  with  a  court-yard  paved  with  beach-pebble,  in  wliioh  the 
date  of  the  Iioiise,  1768,'  may  be  traced.  Entrance  was  trained  on  front  aiul 
side  over  massive  freestone  steps,  that  show  tlie  piint  of  time  to  have  presscil 
more  heavily  tlian  human  i'eet.  The  house,  long  since  deserted  by  the  family, 
is  now  oceuiiied  as  a  bank. 

On  entering  the  mansion  of  the  Lees  the  visitor  is  struck  with  the  expan- 
sive area  of  the  hall,  which  is  six  jiaces  broad,  and  of  corresponding  depth. 
Age  has  imparted  a  rich  coloring  to  the  mahogany  wainscot  and  casiii'4  of 
the  staircase.  Tiie  balusters  are  curiously  carved  in  many  different  j)alt(.'riis; 
the  walls  are  still  hung  with  their  i)riginal  ])aper,  in  panels  representing  Ho- 
man  or  Grecian  ruins,  with  trophies  of  arms,  or  implements  of  agricultMre  or 
of  the  chase  between.  One  panel  represented  a  sea-tight  of  Blake  and  Vim 
Tromp's  day.  Some  of  them  have  been  permanently  disfigured  by  the  use 
of  the  hall,  at  one  time,  as  a  hsh-market.  In  a  corner,  a  trap-door  led  to  the 
old  mercliant's  wine-cellar,  which  he  thus  kept  under  his  own  eye.  It  was 
after  a  visit  to  some  such  mansion  that  Daniel  Webster  asketl, "  Did  those 
old  fellows  go  to  bed  in  a  coach-and-four  ?'' 

The  rooms  opening  at  the  right  and  left  of  the  liall  are  worthy  of  it,  espe- 
cially the  first  named,  which  is  wainscoted  from  floor  to  ceiling,  and  eiiiiclied 
with  elaborate  carving.  Over  the  fire-place  of  tiiis  room  was  formerly  a  por- 
trait of  Esther  before  Ahasuerus,  beautifully  painted  on  a  panel.  There  is  an 
ui)per  hall  of  ample  size,  from  which  open  sleeping  apartments  with  i)ictur('(l 
tiles,  recessed  windows,  and  panes  that  were  the  wonder  of  the  town,  in  which 
none  so  large  had  been  seen. 

Woidd  I  had  been  here  when  the  old  colonel's  slaves  kept  the  antique 
brasses  brightly  polished,  and  stout  logs  crackled  aiul  snapped  in  the  fire- 
places, in  the  day  of  coffin-clocks,  French  mirrors,  and  massive  old  plate,  when 
the  bowl  of  arrack-punch  stood  on  the  sideboard,  and  Copley's  portraits  of 
master  and  mistress  graced  the  walls."  The  painter  has  introduced  tiie  col- 
onel in  a  brown  velvet  coat  laced  with  gold,  and  full-bottomed  wig.  He  was 
short  in  stature  and  rather  portly,  with  an  open  face,  thin  nostril,  and  fine,  in- 
telligent eye.  The  head  is  slightly  thrown  back,  a  device  of  the  artist  to  add 
height  to  the  figure.  ]\[adam  Lee  is  in  a  satin  overdress,  with  a  pelisse  of 
ermine  negligently  cast  about  her  bare  shoulders.  She  looks  a  stately  dame, 
with  her  black  eyes  and  self-possessed  air,  or  as  if  she  might  have  kept  the 
colonel's  house,  slaves  included,  in  perfect  order.' 

When  General  Washington  was  making  his  triumphal  tour  of  the  East- 
ern States,  in  1789,  lie  came  to  Marblehead.     It  was,  he  says,  "  four  miles  out 


'  I  have  seen  the  date  of  17G6  assigned  for  its  building. 

'  Thinlc  of  Copley  painting  these  two  canvases,  eight  feet  long  by  five  wide,  and  in  lii'^  hest 
mnnnei',  for  4125 ! 

°  These  portraits  are  now  in  possession  of  Colonel  William  Uaymond  Lee,  of  Boston. 


MARHLEIIEAD. 


247 


of  tlio  way;  but  I  wanted  to  see  it."  And  so  lie  turned  aside  to  ride  through 
its  rocky  lanes,  and  look  into  the  faces  of  the  men  who  had  followed  him  froni 
I'liiiiltridge  to  Trenton,  and  from  Trenton  to  Yorktown.  How  the  sight  of 
llic'ir    cliief   must  __ 

liuvc  warmed   the  ' --■ -zz~~T^s^-  .. 

licaits     of     those  

VL'toraus!    He  jot-  ^.  _■,_  -^^rr^^^'^""      ^ 

teil  d(»\vn  in  his 
diary  very  briefly 
what  he  saw  and 
IiL'anl  in  ]\larble- 
lit'ad:  "About  5000 
souls  are  said  to 
l»c>  in  this  place, 
which  lias  the  ap- 
])('ai'aiico  of  antiq- 
uity; tiie  houses 
are  old;  llie  streets 
•lirty ;  and  the 
comiiutn  people 
not  very  clean. 
Ix'fore  we  entered 
the  town  we  were 

met  and  attended  by  a  com'e,  till  we  were  handed  over  to  the  Selectmen,  who 
cotuhicted  us,  saluted  by  artillery,  into  the  town  to  the  house  of  a  Mrs.  Lee, 
where  there  was  a  cold  collation  prepared;  after  partaking  of  which,  we  vis- 
ited the  harbor,  etc."  Lafayette,  Monroe,  and  Jackson  have  been  entertained 
in  tlio  satiic  house. 

Wlieii  the  Revolutionary  junto  wished  to  organize  its  artillery,  William 
Kaymoiid  Lee  was  summoned  to  Cambridge  to  command  one  of  the  com- 
laiiies.  He  was  nephew  to  the  old  colonel,  valiantly  taking  up  the  cause 
where  his  uncle  had  laid  it  down.  Afterward  he  served  in  Glover's  regiment, 
jtassiiig  through  all  the  grades  from  captain  to  colonel.  Another  nephew  was 
that  John  Loe  who,  while  in  command  of  a  privateer  belonging  to  the  Tracys, 
witli  a  battery,  part  of  iron  and  partly  of  wooden  guns,  captured  a  rich  ves- 
sel of  superior  force  in  the  bay.  Both  the  colonel's  fighting  nephews  were 
of  Manchester,  on  Cape  Ann. 

Threading  my  way  onward,  I  came  upon  the  old  Town-liouso,  the  Faneuil 
Hall  of  Marblehead,  in  which  much  treason  was  hatched  when  George  UL 
was  king.  The  Whigs  of  Old  Essex  have  often  been  heard  there  when  grave 
questions  were  to  be  discussed,  and  the  jarring  atoms  of  society  have  oft  been 
suiumoued  greeting, 

"To  grand  parading  of  town-meeting." 


TOWN   HOUSE    AND  SQUAKE. 


248 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Ill  the  old  Town-house  Judge  Story  wont  to  scliool  and  Avas  fitted  for  col- 
lego ;  the  substantial  dwelling  in  which  he  was  born  being  nearly  o|)[)()sitc 
with  its  best  jtarlor  beeotne  an  apotheeary's,  under  the  sign  ofGoodwin.  This 
house  was  the  dwelling  o*"  I)r,  Elishu  Story,  of  Kevolutionary  memory,  and 
the  birlhjdace  of  his  son,  the  eminent  jurist.  The  physicians  of  Dr.  Sloiv's 
time  usually  I'urnished  their  own  medicines.  In  cocked  hat  and  suit  of  nistv 
black,  with  saddle-bags  and  countenance  severe,  they  were  marked  men  in 
town  or  village.  Sii  ce  my  visit  to  Marblehead  the  last  of  Dr.  Story's  eigliiceii 
children,  Miss  Caroline  Story,  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  The  chief-justice, 
her  brother,  was  one  of  the  most  lovable  of  men,  and  was  never,  I  believe, 
ashamed  of  the  slight  savor  of  the  dialect  that  betrayed  him  native  and  [n 
the  manner  born. 

The  Episcopal  church  in  Marblehead  is  one  of  its  old  landmarks,  concui- 
ring  fully,  so  far  as  outward  appearance  goes,  in  the  prevailing  mouldiness. 
It  is  not  remarkable  in  any  way  exeept  as  an  oddity  in  wood,  with  a  scpiarc 

_  tower  of  very  inod- 

tT^-^-S'i''S'/lki-~        '-_-—  ^,s^^      lieight     sui- 

mounting  a  broad 
and  sloping  roof. 
At  a  distance  it  is 
searcely  to  be  dis- 
tinguished in  tlic 
wooden  chads  ris- 
ing on  all  sides; 
■Ll  iind  not  long  up) 
its  front  was  mask- 
ed by  buildings,  so 
that  the  entrance- 
door  could  only  be 
reached  by  a  wind- 
ing i)atl!.  Tlic  ]Kii- 
ish  has  at  length 
?r  '"  eleared  its  ancient 
glebe  of  intruders, 
and  the  old  clinrcli 
is  no  longer  jostled 
by  its  dissenting 
neighbors.  Imme- 
diately    adjoininfi; 

is  a  little  church-yard,  in  whieh  repose  the  ashes  of  former  worshipers  who 
loved  these  old  walls,  and  would  lie  in  their  shadow. 

St.  Michael's,  as  originally  built,  must  have  been  an  antique  gem.  Ac- 
cording to  the  aceount  given  me  by  the  rector,  it  had  seven  gables,  tojiped 


ST.   MICHAEL'S,   iMAUBLEIlK.VI). 


MAHMLKHEAl). 


240 


by  !x  tower,  from  which  spnin<jf  a  f^hapcly  spirt',  with  aiiothcr  on  the  north  aiitl 
one  on  tht!  sonth  side.  The  Ibrni  of  the  bniiiUng  was  a  square,  witli  entrances 
on  tlic  soutli  and  west.  Tliu  aisles  crossed  each  oilier  at  right  angles;  the 
ceiling,  supported  by  oaken  colutnns,  was  in  the  form  of  a  St.  Andrew's  cross. 
The  present  barren  area  of  pine  shingles  was  built  above  the  old  roof,  which  it 
cxtiiigiiished  etfcctually.  Cotton  Mather — he  did  not  allude  to  the  Church  of 
Eiii;laiid — styled  the  New  Kngland  churches  golden  candlesticks,  set  up  to  illu- 
minate the  country;  but  what  would  he  have  said  had  he  lived  to  see  the  Puri- 
tan Tlianksgiving  and  Fast  gradually  snj)erseded  by  Christmas  and  by  Easter? 

The  interior  of  the  old  church  well  repays  a  visit.  Its  antiquities  are 
guarded  as  scrupulously  as  the  old  faith  has  been.  Suspended  from  the  ceil- 
iiiL;  is  a  chandelier,  a  wonderful  atfair  in  brass,  the  gift  of  a  merchant  of  I>ris- 
tdl,  Kngland.  The  little  pulpit,  successor  to  an  earlier  one  of  wine-glass  pat- 
tern, lielongs  to  an  era  before  the  in- 
tidihietion  of  costly  wootls.  Above  the 
altiir  is  the  Decalogue,  in  the  ancient 
lettering,  done  in  Engiand  in  1714. 
Manitestly  St.  jMichael's  clings  to  its 
relics  with  greater  affection  than  did 
that  parish  in  the  Old  Country,  which 
oftercd  its  second-hand  Ten  Command- 
ments for  sale,  as  it  was  going  to  buy 
now  ones.  In  the  organ-loft  is  a  diniin- 
utivo  instrument,  going  as  far  back  as 
tlio  (lay  of  Snetzler.  Notwithstanding 
the  (lisiippearance  of  the  cross  from  its 
pinnacle,  and  of  the  royal  emblen  s  from 
their  place  (save  the  mark !)  above  the 
Decalogue,  St.  Michael's  remains  to-day 
an  interesting  memorial  of  Anglican 
worship  in  the  colonies.  It  was  the  third  church  in  JNTassachusetts,  and  tlie 
f'oiu'tli  in  all  New  England,  those  of  Uoston,  Newbury,  and  Newport  alone 
having  preceded  it. 

Tlie  names  of  famous  people  are  perpetuated  in  the  place  of  their  birth  in 
many  ways.  I  noticed  in  ]\[arblehead  the  streets  bore  the  names  of  Selman, 
Tucker,  (Hover,  etc.  Academies,  public  halls,  and  engine-houses  keep  their 
mei.ioiy  green,  or  will  do  so  until  the  era  of  snobbery  ingulls  the  place,  and 
l»ulls  the  old  signs  down.  Its  future,  I  apprehend,  is  to  become  a  summer  re- 
sort. When  that  period  of  intermittent  prosperity  shall  have  set  in  in  full 
tide,  it  will  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  preserve  the  peculiar  quaintness 
wliich  now  makes  Marblehead  the  end)odimcnt  of  the  old  New  England  life. 

Elhridge  Gerry  was  born  in  jVIarblehead.  He  was  of  middle  stature,  thin, 
01  courteous,  old-school  manners,  and  gentlemanly  address.     lie  has  the  name 


ELBItlUOE   GEKUY. 


'J  50 


THE   NliVV  ENGLAND  COAST. 


TUB  OEKUYMANDER. 


of  i\  strong  paiti- 

fsiui,  and  of  staiid- 

iiii^    godfathtT    f,o 

till'      gi'o<rra|)lii('al 

monstrosity  called 

llio    Gerry Miandcr, 

which  has  added  a 

)oliticjil   vocabulary.' 

ivo    i)arty  caricalinc 

arcd  in  America.     It 

has  given  its  author 

It  has  somewhat  oh- 

jiiiblio    servii'c,  and 

a  by-word  lor  polit* 


Those  who  i)elievo  tlie  worst 
])hases  oi'  political  controver^v  V.ive 
been  reserved  to  our  own  time  would 
do  uell  to  read  the  history  of  the 
adnunistrations  of  Washington,  Ad- 
ams, and  Jefferson,  wlioni  we  are  ac- 
customed to  name  witli  reverence  as 
the  fathers  of  the  republic,  yet  who, 
while  in  office,  were  tiie  objects  of  as 


much  personal  malignity  and  abuse  as  their  successors  have  received.  Mr. 
Gerry  was  invited  to  take  a  seat  in  the  I\Iassachusetts  Convention  when  tlie 
constitution  of  1V87  was  under  consideration,  in  order  that  that  body  might 
have  the  benefit  of  his  conceded  sagacity  and  knowledge  of  affairs.  He  op- 
posed the  adoption  of  the  constitution  before  the  Convention,  At  heart  Mr. 
Gerry  was  an  undoubted  patriot.  Once,  w  hen  he  believed  himself  dying,  ho  re- 
marked that  if  he  had  but  one  day  to  live  it  should  be  devoted  to  his  country, 
Elbridge  Gerry  was  destined  for  the  practice  of  medicine,  but  engaged  in 
mercantile  i)ursuits  instead  ;  having  acquired  a  competency  at  the  time  of  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolution,  he  was  fi'ce  to  take  ])art  in  the  struggle.  He 
held  many  important  offices,  and  his  public  career,  full  of  the  incidents  of 
stirring  times,  was  marked  also  by  some  eccentricities.  Mr.  Gerry,  as  early 
as  November,  1775,  introduced  a  bill  into  the  Provincial  Congress  for  the 
fitting-out  of  armed  vessels  by  INIassachusetts.  In  the  direction  of  inaugu- 
rating warfare  with  England  at  sea,  he  was,  without  doubt,  tlie  pioneer. 

'  It  is  not  settled  who  is  entitled  to  the  authorship  of  tlie  woid  "  Gerry miuuler,"  thr  wliidi  ii 
number  of  cliiimants  Imve  appeared.  The  map  of  Essex,  which  gave  rise  to  the  caricatiiii.',  was 
drawn  by  Nathan  Hale,  who  edited  the  Boston  Weskli/  Messenger,  in  which  the  political  defonnity 
first  appeared. 


MAltm.KUKAD. 


251 


Tlie  nunibcM- 
(if  ii:iv!il  lieroes 
whoiii  Mai'ble- 
lioad  may  claim 
as  lioi-  own  is 
Mdiu'tliiiiij       siir- 


|)iisiii;4.  There 
\w\v  John  Sel- 
iiKiu  and  Niclio- 
l;is  I'.iongliton, 
wild  sailed  in  two 
ariiK'd  schooners 
tiom  IJeverly,  as 
I'iiHy  as  October, 
1775,  with  in- 
structions from 
Wasliiiisiton  to 
intercept,  if  pos- 
sible, some  of  the 
enemy's  vessels  in 
the  (iulf  of  St. 
Lawrence.  Fail- 
ing in  this  object) 
they  landed  at 
St.  John's,  now 
Prince  Edward 
Island,  captnred 
the      fort,      and 

lirounrjit  off  a  nnniber  of  provincial  dignitaries  of  rank,  Washington,  who 
wanted  powder,  and  not  prisoners,  was  not  well  ])leased  with  the  resnit  of 
tiiis  expedition,  as  be  held  it  impolitic  then  to  embroil  the  revolted  coh)nies 
witli  Canada.  Mnch  was  exi)ected  of  the  hereditary  antipathy  of  the  French 
('aiiadians  for  their  English  rnlers,  bnt  in  this  resi)ect  the  general's  policy 
was  fomided  iti  a  mistaken  jndgment  of  those  people. 

Commodore  Manly,  to  whom  John  Adams  says  tlie  first  British  flag  was 
struck,  was  either  native  born,  or  came  in  very  early  life  to  Marblehead.  lie 
^vas  placed  in  conunand  of  the  first  crnisor  that  sailed  with  a  regnlar  com- 
inissiun  from  Washington,  in  17T5,  signalizing  his  advent  in  the  bay  in  the 
^te— a  schooner  mounting  only  four  guns — by  the  capture  of  a  British  vessel 
htden  with  military  stores,  of  the  utmost  value  to  the  Americans  besieging 
hostci,.  When  this  windfall  was  reported  to  Congress,  the  members  be- 
lieved Divine  Providence  had  interposed  in  their  favor.  Our  officers  de- 
clared their  wants  could  not  have  been  better  supplied  if  they  had  themselvc;' 


OLD   NOKTU"    CONGUEOATIONAL  CIirUCH. 


252 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


sent  a  schedule  of  military  stores  to  Woolwicli  Arsenal.  So  apprehensive  was 
the  general  that  liis  pri/.c;  niij^iht  slip  through  his  fingers,  that  all  the  eurts  \i> 
he  obtained  in  the  vieinity  of  Cape  Ann  were  impressed,  in  order  to  bring  tlic 
cargo  to  eamp.  Manly  died  in  I>(>st(»n,  in  I  TO.T,  in  eireunistances  nearly  :illif(l 
to  destitution.  lie  was,  says  one  wlio  knew  him  well, "a  handy,  hearty,  Ihhi- 
est,  benevolent,  blunt  man,  with  more  eourage  than  good  conduct." 

Another  of  these  old  sea-dogs  was  Commodore  Samuel  Tucker,  the  son  dt' 

a  ship-master.  The  clil 
house  in  which  lie  was 
born  was  staiulin'j,-  on 
IJowland  Hill.  (I  do  luit 
know  that  he  of  Surrey 
Chapel  had  any  thing  tn 
do  with  the  name  in 
]Marl)leIiead.)  It  was  liu- 
forc'the  door  of  this  lioibc 
that  Tucker,  in  liis  shin- 
sleeves,  was  clio]i])iii<j; 
wood  one  evening,  just 
at  dusk,  when  a  tiiiuly 
mounted  officer  clattercil 
down  the  street.  Seeing' 
Tucker,  the  officer  askcil 
if  he  could  inform  liiiii 
where  the  Ilonoralilc 
Samuel  Tucker  residi'd. 
Tucker,  astonished  at  tlic 
question, answered  in  tlic 
negative,  saying,  "Tlicrc 
is  no  such  man  lives  hcrf; 
there  is  no  other  Sam 
Tucker  in  this  town  but  myself."  At  this  reply,  the  officer  raised  his  beaver, 
and,  bowing  low,  presented  him  a  commission  in  the  navy. 

Tucker,  in  1778,  was  taking  John  Adams  to  France  in  the  old  frigate  Boi^- 
ton,^  when  he  fell  in  with  an  enemy.  While  clearing  his  decks  for  action  lie 
espied  Mr.  Adams,  musket  in  hand,  among  the  marines.  Laying  a  hand  on 
the  commissioner's  shoulder,  Tucker  said  to  him,  "I  am  commanded  by  the 
Continental  Congress  to  carry  you  safely  to  Europe,  and  I  will  do  it," at  tlio 
same  time  conducting  him  below. 

The  brave  Captain  Mugford,  whose  exploit  in  capturing  a  vessel  laden  with 


SAMUEL  TUCKliU. 


'  The  old  frigate  Boston  was  captured  at  Charleston  in  1780  by  the  British.     In  1801  Tom 
Moore  went  over  to  England  in  her,  she  beitig  then  commanded  by  Captain  J.  E.  Douglas. 


MAHULKIIKAD 


253 


pouilor  in  I'ostoii  Ilarbnr,  in  May,  ITTfl,  )>rovc(l  of  inostimablo  valiio,  was  also 
an  iiilialiitant  of  Marblcla'ad.  Liko  Sfliiiaii  and  ISrounliton,  lie  liad  bi'on  a 
i'a|it;iiii  in  the  famous  Marblolicad  roi^inicnt,  and  liis  crew  were  volunteers 
liuiii  il.  The  year  jji-evious,  Miigford,  with  otiiers,  had  been  impressed  on 
liuiipl  a  IJritish  vessel,  the  Liiieb/,  then  stationed  at  Marblehead.  Arui^ford's 
will',  <»ii  lieariuijf  what  liad  befallen  iier  liusbund,  went  ott'  to  the  frigate  and 
iiitorccik'd  with  the  captain  for  his  release,  allt'y;iii^  that  they  weie  just  niar- 
liod,  and  that  he  was  her  sole  dependence  lor  sup{)t)rt.  The  Englishman,  veiy 
<'eiier()iisly,  restored  Mngl'oi'd  his  liberty. 

Tlie  Trovetts,  father  and  sou,  were  little  less  distinguished  than  any  al- 
ro.itly  named,  adding  to  the  high  renown  of  3Iarbleliead,  both  in  the  Old  War 
anil  ill  the  later  contest  with  England, 

(ildvcr  and  his  regimeut  conferred  lasting  honor  on  this  old  lown  by  the 
sea.  As  soon  as  it  had  been  deter- 
niiiic'd  to  lit  out  armed  vessels,  VVasli- 
iiigtou  intrusted  the  details  to  Glover, 
ami  ordered  the  regiment  to  Beverly, 
wiiere  these  amphibians  first  equippetl 
and  llien  manned  the  privateers.  Tlic 
ivuinicnt  signaliz"d  itself  at  l^oug  Isl- 
and and  at  Trenton,  and  ought  U>  have 
a  monument  on  the  highest  ))oiut  of 
land  in  ]\F;irblehead,  with  the  names  of 
its  heroes  inscribed  in  bronze.  Gen- 
eral (Hover  wriS  long  an  invi'lid  from 
tlic  cfTects  of  disease  contracted  in  the 
army,  dying  in  1797.'  He  had  V)een  a 
>lu)e-maker,  and  is,  I  imagine,  the  per- 
son referred  to  in  the  following  c.v- 
'mct  from  the  memoirs  of  Madame 
lliedesel : 


OENEUAI,  GLOVEIt. 


"Some  of  the  generals  who  accompanied  us  were  shoe-makers;  and  upon 
tlii'ir  halting  days  they  made  boots  for  our  otlicers,  and  also  mended  nicely 
ilie  shoes  of  our  soldiers.  One  of  our  otHcers  had  worn  his  boots  entirely  into 
shiods,  lie  saw  that  an  American  general  had  on  a  good  pair,  and  said  to 
lilm,  jestingly, '  I  will  gladly  give  you  a  guinea  for  them.'  Immediately  the 
_i,'eno;';d  alighted  from  his  horse,  took  the  guinea,  gave  up  his  boots,  and  put 
iin  the  badly-worn  ones  of  the  officer,  and  again  mounted  his  horse."  Gen- 
eral Glover's  house  is  still  standing  on  Glover  Square.  I  made,  as  every 
I'ody  must  make,  in  Marbleiiead,  a  pilgrimage  to  Oakum  Bay,  a  classic  pre- 
•iiu't,  and  to  the  humble  abode  of  Benjamin  Ireson,  whom  Wlattier  has  made 


'  William  P.  Uijlinm,  of  Salem,  has  written  a  memoir  of  Glover. 


25-t 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


irnmortiil.  Questionless  the  [toet  lias  done  more  to  make  Marblehead  kiio\vi\ 
than  all  the  historians  and  inaira/iMc- writers  put  together,  though  the  noluii- 
ety  is  little  relislu'd  there.  The  tacts  were  sufficiently  dramatic  as  they  i\. 
isted ;  but  Mi'.  Whitlier  has  taken  a  poet's  licciisc,  and  arranged  tliein  to  liis 
fancy.  Old  Flood  Ireson  sutt'cred  in  tiie  tlesli,  and  his  nicinory  has  been  pil- 
loried in  verse  lor  a  crime  he  did  not  coininit.  Nevertheless,  I  doubt  tlmt 
the  people  of  iv.arblehead  forget  that  Pegasus  has  wings,  and  can  no  ukuc 
amble  at  the  historian's  slow  place  than  he  can  thrive  on  bran  and  water. 

It  is  not  many  years  since  Ireson  was  alive,  broken  in  spirit  under  ilie  oli- 
loqny  of  Ids  hideous  ride.  Later  in  life  he  followed  shore-tishing,  aiul  was 
once  blown  ott"  to  sea,  where  he  was  providentially  picked  up  by  a  coaster 
bound  to  some  Eastern  port.  I  do  not  think  he  could  have  deciared  iiis 
right  name,  for  sailors  are  superstitious  tolk,  and  he  would  have  been  account- 
ed a  Jonah  in  any  sliij)  that  sailed  these  seas.  His  wherry  having  be.ii  cut 
adrift,  was  found,  and  Old  Mood  Ireson  was  believed  to  have  gone  to  tl.c  bot- 
tom of  the  bay,  when,  to  the  genuine  astonishment  of  his  townsmen,  he  ii|i- 
peared  one  day  plodding  wearily  along  the  streets.  Some  charitable  souls 
gave  him  another  wherry,  hut  the  boys  followed  the  old  man  about  as  liu 
cried  his  fish  with  their  cruel  shouts  of, 

"I,  Flood  Ireson,  for  loaviiifr  ;i  wrack, 
Was  blowccl  out  to  sen,  and  coukliri  get  back." 

There  is  book  authority  for  the  terrible  aspect  of  the  vengeance  of  tlic 
fish-wives  of  Alarbiehead,  so  ])iclnresquely  ]iortr;iyed  in  the  poet's  lines.  In- 
CM-ease  Ma'her,  in  a  letter  to  .Mr.  Cotton,  23d  of  Fifth  month,  IGVV,  meiitioii'; 
an  instance  of  rage  against  two  Fastern  Indians,  then  ])risoners  at  .MnrMc- 
head:  "  Sabbath-diiy  was  sennight,  the  wc>men  tit  ^larblehead,  <tft  f/ici/  '•(imr 
out  of  the  hieeting-hoKse^  fell  upon  two  Indians  that  were  brought  in  as  ca|)- 
ti\es,  and,  in  a  tumultuous  way,  very  barbarously  murdeied  them.  Doubt- 
less, if  the  Indians  hear  of  it,  the  captives  among  them  will  be  served  M.cconl- 
ingly.""  This  episode  recalls  the  r.age  of  the  lish-women  of  Paris  during  the 
Iteigii  of  Terror,  those  unsexed  and  pitiless  viragos  of  La  Halle. 

I  coidd  discover  little  of  the  old  Marblehead  ilialect,  once  so  disliiictivc 
that  even  the  better  class  were  not  free  i'rom  it.  It  is  true  a  ^i^w  old  people 
still  retain  in  their  conversation  the  savor  of  it ;  but  it  is  dying  out.  Vour 
true  Marbieheade''  would  say,  "  barn  in  a  burn"  for  "born  in  a  bain."  His 
speech  was  thic^k  and  guttural ;  only  an  occasional  woi'd  falling  familiarly 
on  the  unaccustomed  ear.  All  the  world  over  he  w.as  known  so  soon  as  lie 
opened  his  mouth.  The  idiom  may  have  been  the  outgrowth  of  the  place,  or 
jierchance  a  reminiscence  of  the  speech  of  old-time  fishermen,  groniiderl,  as  1 
apjn'chend,  more  in  the  long  custom  of  an  illiterate  people  than  any  supposcil 
relationship  with  our  English  mother-tongue.  AVhittier  was  acquainted  willi 
the  jargon,  and  the  (juestion  is  open  to  the  philologist. 


MAUBLEIIEAD. 


255 


3 

(h1. 

Imi 


Tlicro  is  a  logon;!  about  the  eovo  near  Iroson's  ufa  "screochiiig  woman" 
(loiic  to  (loath  by  piratos  a  coiitury  and  a  lialt'  or  more  past — a  sliaclowy  mo- 
Miorial  of  tlie  fact  of  tlioir  prosonce  liore  so  long  ago.  Tlioy  brought  hor  on 
slioro  from  llioir  sliip,  and  murderod  hor.  On  oaoh  anniversary  of  her  death, 
savs  tlio  legend,  the  town  was  thrilk'd  to  its  maiTow  bv  tlio  unearthlv  t)ut- 
cries  of  the  pirates'  victim.  Many  believed  the  story,  while  not  a  few  had 
heurd  the  screams.  Chief-justice  Story  was  among  those  who  asserted  that 
they  had  listened  to  those  midnight  cries  of  fear. 

Passing  over  the  causeway  and  under  the  gate-way  of  Fort  Sewall,said  to 
have  boon  named  from 
Cliiof- justice  Steplieii 
Sewall,'      wlio      once 
taiiiiiii   school  in  ^lar- 
l)lclH'ail,  I  entered  the 
spaciiiiis      ])arade,    on 
which  a  i'uU  regiment 
iniiilit  easily  be  form- 
The      fort      was 
about  1742,  and 
until  what  was  so  long 
known    as    "the    late 
will'"    with    P^ngland, 
icmaiiiod    substantial- 
ly ill  its  original    pic- 
turcs((no  condition.    A 
very  (lid  man,  whom  I 
encountered  on  my  way  hither,  bemoaned  the  demolition  of  the  old  work, 
whicli  had  boon  pulled  to  jiieces  and  made  nuiro  destructive  during  the  Great 
Civil  ^^'ar.     The  walls  were  originally  of  rougli  stone,  little  cai>able  of  with- 
stainling  the  projectiles  of  modern  artillery.     There  is  another  fort  on  the 
smiuiiit  of  a  rocky  eminence  that  overlooks  the  approach  to  the  Neck,  built 
also  during  the  llebeUion.     AVhen  I  visited  it,  the  earthen  walls  of  one  face 
had  fallen  in  the  ditch,  where  the  remainder  of  the  work  bid  fair,  at  no  dis- 
tant (lay,  to  follow.     There  is  still  remaining  in  the  town  the  (juaint  little 
liowder-lioiise  built  in  17");),  with  a  roof  like  the  cup  of  an  acorn. 

Seated  under  the  muzzle  of  one  of  the  big  guns  of  Foit  Sewall  that  point- 
('(1  seaward,  I  could  descry  Uakor's  Isle  with  its  bi.ice  of  lights,  and  the  nar- 
row stia  it  through  which  the  Afu't/at'l  muU'*^  mi  102S,  with  Kndicott  and  the 
loiuiders  of  Salem  on  board.  Two  years  later  tlie  .IrtiU/lit  "came  to  an  an- 
cli'ir  a  little  within  the  island."  Wintlirop  tells  us  hov.-  the  storm-tossed  voy- 
iiircrs  went  upon  the  land  at  Cape  Ami,  and  regale(l  themselves  with  store  of 


lour  si;wAi.i.. 


'  Soil  of  AInjor  Stqilieii,  of  \cwbiiry. 


256 


TIIK  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


strawberries.  Boston  was  settled.  The  little  colony  gave  its  left  hand  to 
Salem,  and  its  right  to  Plymouth.  It  waxed  strong,  and  no  power  has  pro- 
vailed  against  it. 

Little  Harbor,  north-west  of  the  fort,  is  the  reputed  site  of  the  first  settU'- 

ment  at  Marblehead.     On  Gerry's  Isj- 

.  i  _r  f-f"   ^-  5._  and,  which  lies  close  under  the  shore, 

"  y^  -  was  the  house  of  the  first  regularly  <tr- 

^  ~^  dained  minister ;  the  cellar  and  pebl)lt'- 

paved  yard  were,  not  long  ago,  identi- 
fied. Near  by,  on  the  main-land,  is  Uic 
supposed  site  of  the  "Fountain  Tmi," 
which,  like  the  "Earl  of  Halifax,"  lias 
its  romance  of  a  noble  gentleman  takiii 
''^^  in  the  toils  of  a  pretty  weneii.'  Sir 
Charles  Frankland,  collector  of  his  ]Maj- 
esty's  customs,  visits  Marblehead,  and 
b(!comes  enamored  of  tha  handmaid  of 
t  lie  inn,  Agnes  Surriage.  He  makes  her 
his  mistress,but  at  length, having  sav.ed 
his  life  during  the  great  earthcpiake  at 
Lisbon,  she  receives  the  reward  of  love 
and  heroism  at  the  altar  as  tlie  baronet's 
wedded  wife.  Arthur  Sandeyn,  who 
was  the  first  publican  in  ^Marblehead, 
was  allowed  to  keep  an  ordinary  there  in  1G40.  The  port  was  fortified  after 
some  fashion  as  early  as  ]G4:3-'44, 

I  had  pointed  out  to  nie  the  spot  where  the  Constififtion  dropjied  anclior 
Avhen  chased  in  here  by  two  IJritish  frigat':s  in  April,  LSI 4.  They  thi'ealeiuMl 
for  a  time  to  fetch  her  out  again;  but  as  Stewart  laid  the  old  invincible  mIiIi 
lier  griin  broadside  to  the  entrance  of  the  port,  and  the  fort  prepared  to  re- 
ceive them  in  a  becoming  nninner,  they  prudently  hauled  ofi".  The  battle 
between  the  Chesapeake  and  Sfuuinon  was  also  visible  from  the  high  shores 
here,  an  eye-witness,  then  in  a  fishing-boat  oflT  in  the  Tjay,  I'clatiiig  tliat 
notliing  was  to  be  seen  except  the  two  ships  envelo])ed  in  a  thick  smoke, 
and  nothing  to  be  heard  but  the  roar  of  the  guns.  When  the  smoke  drifted 
to  leewiird,  and  the  cannonade  was  over,  the  British  ensign  was  seen  waving 
above  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

Poor,  chivalric,  ill-starred  Lawrence !  He  liad  given  a  challenge  to  the 
commander  of  the  Bonne  Citoyen,  and  durst  not  decline  one."     At  tlie  Shun- 


'    Si'",         v.-     . 

POWDERHOl'SE,  17o5. 


'  See  "  01(1  Landm.avks  of  Boston,"  p]).  102.  IfiU. 

"  It  lias  been  enoneoiisly  staled  iliat  Haiiil)ii(lj;e  accompanied  Lawrence  to  the  pier  und  tried  to 
dissuade  liiin  from  engaging  the  Shannon.     They  had  not  met  for  several  days. 


MAUBLEIIEAD. 


257 


land  to 
las  p  re- 


st settlo- 
■ry's  Isl- 
c  sliori', 
larly  or- 
i  peblile- 
0,  identi- 
lid,  is  llio 
iin  Inn," 
tax,"  Ikis 
nm  taken 
ich.'     Sir 
f  his  Maj- 
hoail,  and 
idnniid  of 
makes  her 
in'j;  r^avod 
iiquako  at 
,rd  of  love 
3  baronet's 
leyn,  who 
arblelieail, 
:itiod  after 

'd  anclior 
•oatoned 
ibU'  with 
•ed  to  re- 
he  battle 

lo-h  shores^ 
itiiiti'  that 

lek  siiHike, 
ke  drifted 

■en  waving 

i<j;e  ti)  the 
the  ShilH- 


•il 


how's  invitation,  he  put  to  sea  witli  an  unlucky  ship,  and  a  mutinous  crow 
fresh  from  the  grog-shops  and  brothels  of  Ann  Street.  lie  besought  them  iit 
Imrninij;  words  to  show  themselves  worthy  the  name  of  American  sailors. 
They  replied  with  sullen  murmnis.  One  wretch,  a  I'ortnguese  named  Joseph 
Antonio,  came  forward  as  their  spokesman.  His  appearance  was  singularly 
fantastic.  lie  wore  a  cheeked  shirt,  a  laced  jacket,  rings  in  his  ears,  and  a 
liiinilana  handkerchief  about  his  liead.  Laying  Ids  hand  on  his  breast,  he 
made  a  profound  inclination  to  his  captain  as  he  said: 

"Pardon  me,  sir,  but  fair  play  be  one  jewel  all  over  the  world,  and  we  no 
touchee  the  specie  for  our  last  cruise  with  Capitaine  Evans,  The  Congress  is 
ver'  miniilicent;  they  keep  our  piasters  in  treasury^  and  pay  us  grape  and 
canister.  Good  fashion  in  Portuguee  ship,  when  take  rich  prize  is  not  pay 
poco  upoeo^hui  break  bulk  and  share  out  dollar  on  drum-head  of  capstan.'" 

Already  wounded  in  the  leg,  Lawrence  was  struck  by  a  grape-sltot  on  tlie 
medal  he  wore  in  honor  of  his  former  victory.  His  words,  as  he  was  borne 
lioni  tiie  deck,  have  become  a  watchword  in  our  navy."  Samuel  Liverniore, 
of  IJoston,  who  accompanied  Lawrence  on  this  cruise  out  of  personal  regard, 
attempted  to  avenge  him.  His  shot  nussed  Captain  Broke.  Lawrence  hear- 
ing from  below  the  firing  cease,  sent  his  surgeon  to  tell  his  officers  to  figlit  on. 
"The  colors  shall  wave  while  I  live !" 
lie  constantly  repeated.  He  was  only 
thirty-four;  sixteen  years  of  his  life 
had  been  passed  in  liis  country's  serv- 
ice. His  figure  was  tall  and  com- 
manding, and  in  battle  he  was  the  in- 
carnation of  a  warrior.        ' 

When  Mr.  Croker  read  the  state- 
ment of  the  action  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  the  members  from  all  parts 
interrupted  him  with  loud  and  con- 
tinued cheering.  Perhaps  a  greater 
compliment  to  American  valor  conhl 
not  have  been  paid  than  this.  The 
capture  of  a  single  ship  of  any  nation 
had  never  belbre  called  forth  such  a 
tiiiimpliant  outburst. 

The  oldest  burial-ground  in  ^lar- 
hlchead  is  on  the  summit  and  slopes  of  tlie  liighest  of  its  rocky  etninences. 
Here,  also,  the  settlers  raised  the  frame  of  their  primitive  church;  some  part 


JAMES   LAWKENCB. 


;r  ami  tried  to 


'  Tlli^  f:ict  was  cstalilislit'tl  tiy  GeoftVey  Ciiiyon  C\Vnsliinp;fnn  Irving)  in  one  of  his  philippics 
•'Kninst  Gmit  liritain,  of  which  he  so  slyly  eonceulcd  tim  autiiorsiiip  in  the  preface  to  his  "Sketch 
Ij'joii.''  '  "  Don't  give  up  the  sliip." 

17 


258 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


of  whicli,  I  was  toUl,  has  since  been  translated  into  a  more  secular  edifice.  At 
the  head  of  a  little  pond,  where  a  clump  of  dwarfish  willows  has  become 
rooted,  is  a  sheltered  nook,  in  which  are  the  oldest  stones  now  to  be  seen. 
This  was  probably  the  choice  spot  of  the  whole  field,  but  it  now  wears  tlio 
same  air  of  neglect  common  to  all  these  old  cemeteries.  A  stone  of  1000 
with  the  name  of  "Mr.  Christopher  Latimore,  about  70  years,"  was  the  oldest 
I  discovered. 

As  I  picked  my  way  among  the  thick-set  liead-stones,  for  there  was  no  path, 
and  I  always  avoid  treading  on  a  grave,  I  came  upon  a  grave-digger  busily 
employed,  witli  whom  I  held  a  few  iiioiiients'  j)arley.  The  man,  already  up  to 
his  waistband  in  the  pit,  seemed  chiefiy  concerned  lest  he  should  not  be  able 
to  go  much  farther  before  coming  to  the  ledge,  which,  even  in  the  hollow 
places,  yon  are  sure  of  finding  at  no  great  depth.  On  one  side  of  the  grave 
was  a  heap  of  yellow  mould,  smelling  of  the  earth  earthy,  and  on  the  other 
side  a  lesser  one  of  human  bones,  that  the  spade  had  once  more  brought  above 
ground. 


'*'»r'^  .^ . 


GLIMI'SK   OK   THE  SEAMEN'S   MONUMENT   AND   OLD   BUUIAL-GROUND. 


After  observing  that  he  shoulil  be  lucky  to  get  down  six  feet,  the  work- 
man told  me  the  grave  was  destined  to  receive  the  remains  of  an  old 
lady  of  ninety-four,  recently  deceased,  who,  as  if  fearful  her  rest  might  lie 
less  quiet  in  the  midst  of  a  generation  to  which  she  did  not  belong,  had 
begged  she  might  be  buried  here  among  her  old  friends  and  neighbors.  Al- 
though interments  had  long  been  interdicted  in  the  overcrowded  gronml,  lit'i' 
prayer  was  granted.  An  examination  of  the  iuscrijitions  confirmed  what  I 
had  heard  relative  to  the  longevity  of  the  iidiabitants  of  Marblehead,  of  wliicli 
the  grave-digger  also  recounted  more  instances  than  I  am  able  to  remember. 


MARBLEIIEAD. 


269 


fico.  At 
i  become 
be  sciMi. 
iVt'iivs  the 
3  of  1000 
,he  oldest 

s  no  patli, 
nrer  busily 
lady  n\)  to 
ot  be  alilo 
,he  hollow 
'  the  grave 
the  other 
light  above 


[•t,  the  work- 

of  an  old 

1st  might  111' 

belong,  lia'l 

ghbor!^.    Al- 

ground,  her 

•med  what  1 
l>ad,  of  which 
remember. 


I  aslvcd  him  what  was  done  with  the  bones  I  saw  lying  there,  adding  to 
the  '>eaj)  a  fragment  or  two  that  had  fallen  unnoticed  from  his  spade. 

■  Wliy,  yon  see,  I  bury  them  underneath  the  grave  I  am  digging,  before 
the  folks  get  here.  We  often  find  such  bones  on  the  surface,  where  they  have 
been  1  "ft  after  tilling  up  a  grave,"  was  his  reply.  Tiiis  did  not  ap])ear  sur- 
prising, for  those  I  saw  were  nearly  the  color  of  the  earth  itself  Seeing  my 
look  directed  with  a  sort  of  fascination  toward  these  relics  of  frail  mortality, 
the  man,  evidently  misconstruing  my  thought,  took  up  an  arm-bone  with  play- 
ful familiarity,  and  observed,  "  You  should  have  seen  the  thigh-bone  I  found 
under  the  old  Episcopal  Church  !  I  could  have  knocked  a  man  down  with 
it  easy.  These,"  he  said,  throwing  the  bone  upon  the  licap,  with  a  gesture  of 
contempt,  "  are  mere  rotten  things,"  Who  would  be  put  to  bed  with  that 
man's  shovel ! 

On  a  grassy  knoll,  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  is  a  marble  monument  erected 
by  the  Marblehead  Charitable  Seamen's  Society,  in  memory  of  its  members 
deceased  on  shore  and  at  sea.  On  one  face  are  the  names  of  those  who  have 
died  on  shore,  and  on  the  east  those  lost  at  sea,  from  the  society's  institution 
in  1831  to  the  year  1848.  On  the  north  are  the  names  of  sixty-live  men  and 
boys  lost  in  the  memorable  gale  of  September  19th,  1846.  This  number  com- 
prised forty-three  heads  of  families ;  as  many  widows,  and  one  hundred  and 
lifty-five  fatherless  children,  were  left  to  mourn  the  fatality. 

Tiie  grave-digger  told  me  that  brave  Captain  Mugford  had  been  buried 
on  this  hill,  but  the  spot  was  now  unknown.  I  could  well  believe  it,  for  nev- 
er had  I  seen  so  many  graves  with  nothing  more  than  a  shapeless  boulder  at 
the  head  and  foot  to  mark  them.  Many  stones  were  broken  and  defaced,  and 
I  saw  the  fragments  of  one  unearthed  while  standing  by.  There  is  no  mate- 
rial so  diir;d)le  as  the  old  blue  slate,  whereon  you  may  often  read  an  inscrip- 
tion cut  two  hundred  years  :igo,  while  those  on  freestone  and  marble  need 
renewing  every  fifty  years.     General  Glover's  tomb  here  is  inscribed: 

Erected  with  filial  respect 

to 

The  Memory  of 

The  Hon.  JOHN  GLOVER,  Esquire, 

Brigadier  General  in  the  late  Continental  Army. 

Died  January  30th,  1797, 

Aged  64. 

Many  of  the  old  graves  were  covered  with  freshly  springing  "  life-everlast- 
ing," beautifully  symbolizing  the  rest  of  such  as  sleep  in  the  faith.  From  the 
teamen's  Monument,  at  the  foot  of  which  some  wooden  benches  are  placed, 
is  seen  a  broad  horizon,  dotted  with  white  sails.  I  never  knew  a  sailor  who' 
'lid  not  wish  to  be  buried  as  near  as  possible  to  the  sea,  though  never  in  it. 
"Don't  throw  me  overboard.  Hardy,"  was  Nelson's  dying  request.  There 
are  clumps  of  lone  graves  on  the  verge  of  some  headland  all  over  New  En- 


260 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


L-- 


WfL^ 

LONE  0UAVK8, 


ffland,  and  one  old  sjravo-vard  on  Sta'jre 
Island,  in  Maine,  lias  been  wliolly  wash- 
ed away. 

In  alhision  to  tlic  loss  ol'life  canscd 
by  disasters  to  the  fishing  Heets  IVoni 
time  to  time,  an  old  man  with  w  horn 
I  talked  thought  it  was  not  greater 
than  would  occur  through  the  ordina- 
ry chances  of  a  life  on  shore.  It  is 
wonderful  liow  a  seafaring  pojtulation 
come  to  associate  the  idea  of  safety 
with  the  sea.  Earlh<inakes,  confla- 
grations, fidling  buildings,  and  like  ac- 
cidents are  more  dreaded  than  hurri- 
canes, squalls,  or  a  lee-shore. 

By  an  estimate  taken  from  the  Ussex  Gazftt(',o(  Jnnnayy  2d,  1770,  it  ap- 
pears that  ill  the  two  preceding  years  Marblehead  lost  twenty-three  sail  of 

vessels,  with  tlu'ii' 

ing  one  liinuhvd 
and  sixty -two 
souls,willi()ut  tak- 
ing into  accoinit 
those  Avho  were 
lost  from  vessels 
on  their  return, 
'I'hei'e  were  lew 
Ihmilies  that  did 
not  mourn  a  rela- 
tive, and  some  of 
the  older  inliabit- 
Miits  remeniliertn 
have  heard  tlieii' 
elders  speak  of  it 
with  a  shudder. 

These  are  the 
annals  that  douht- 
less  suggested 
^fiss  Larconfs 
"Hannah     ]>ind- 

ing  Shoes,"  and  the  long,  lingering,  yet  fruitless  w.'itehing  for  those  wlm  nev- 
er come  back.  The  last  shake  of  the  hand,  the  last  kiss,  and  the  last  flafehing 
of  the  white  sail  are  nnich  like  the  farewell  on  the  day  of  battle. 


"SITTING,  STITclUNO    IN    A   MorUNKLI.   Ml'Slii." 


Tlili   UOE,  liNGLISU   I'LV.MUUTU. 


CIIAPTEU  XVII. 


TLYMOrT  I. 


"Wliat  constitiitos  t\  state? 
Not  liigli  niisetl  brtttleineiits  di-  hiboreil  mound, 
Thick  walls  or  moated  gate." 

T)LY^IOUTII  is  tlic  American  Mocca.  It  does  not  contain  the  tomb  of 
'-  the  Pi-opiiet,  but  the  Hock  of  tlie  Forefatliers,  tlieir  trail itioiis,  ami  their 
liiavts.  Tlie  first  impressions  of  a  stranger  are  disappointing,  ibr  tlie  oldest 
town  ill  Xew  Ennland  looks  as  fresh  as  if  built  within  the  century.  There  is 
not  iinu'h  that  is  suggestive  of  the  old  life  to  be  seen  there.  Except  the  liills, 
tlic  liiiven,  and  the  sea,  there  is  nothing  antique ;  save  a  fe\v  carefully  cher- 
i;*lied  relics,  nothing  that  has  survived  the  day  of  the  Pilgrims. 

Somehow  monuments — and  Plymouth  is  to  be  well  furnislied  in  the  future 
—do  not  compensate  for  the  absence  of  living  facts.  The  liouse  of  William 
hindiuid  would  have  been  worth  more  to  me  than  any  of  them.  Even  the 
'iisty  iron  ])ot  and  sword  of  Standish  are  more  satisfying  to  the  common  run 
ul'  us  than  the  shaft  they  are  building  on  Captain's  Hill  to  his  memory.    They, 


262 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


at  least,  link  iis  to  the  personality  of  the  man.     And  with  a  sigh  that  it  was 
80 — for  I  had  hoped  otherwise — I  was  obliged  to  admit  that  Old  Plymouth 

had   been    rubbed   out 
and  that  I  was  too  late 
by  a  century  at  least  to 
realize  my  ideal. 

The  most  iiniMvssive 
thing  about  I'lymoutli 
is  its  (piiet ;  tliougli  I 
would  not  have  tlir 
reader  thiid<  it  dcscrtt'd. 
There  are  works!. ops 
and  factories,  but  I  tliii 
not  suspect  their  vicin- 
ity. Even  the  railway 
train  slips  furtively  in 
and  out,  as  if  its  r'uii- 
bling  might  awiikeu 
the  slumbering  old  soa- 
|)ort.  Although  the 
foundation  of  a  com- 
monwealth, the  town, 
as  we  see,  has  not  be- 
come one  of  the  cen- 
tres  of  traffic.     It  has 

/I,  Joanna  Davis  House  — Cole's  Hill;   li,    Plymouth  Rock  and  Wells's  ^''''^'"^'<'    the    iato    ot   .a- 

Htore;  C,  Univcrsiilist  Clmicli ;  />,  KiiMt  t'liinch;   /•;,  Cliiucli  of  tlio  I'll-  lem,  in  having  its  coni- 

grimage;  f,  Post-offlce— Site  of  Governoi-  Hnul fold's  Honsn:  Cr',  Sam-  iii(iiv>in1   niarrf)\V  SUcked 
iiel  D.  Ilolmes'a  House — Site  of  Common  House;  //,  Town  Square;  /, 

Town-house ;  J,  Court-house  Square.  OUt  by  a  metropolis  "  op- 

1,  Court  Street;  2,  North  Street;  3,  Middle  Street;  4,  Leyden  Street;  5,  ijlont  enlari'"od   and  Still 

Main  Street ;  6,  Water  Street;  7,  Market  Street.  .  .        Ti         •         i 

increasing,  leaving  the 
first-born  of  Xew  England  nothing  but  her  glorious  past,  and  the  old  lircs 
still  burning  on  her  altars. 

Court  Street  is  a  pleasant  and  well-built  thoroughfare.  It  runs  along  the 
base  of  three  of  the  hills  on  whose  slopes  the  town  lies,  taking  at  length  the 
name  of  jNIain,  which  it  exchanges  again  beyond  the  town  sqmire  for  .Market 
Street.  If  you  follow  Court  Street  northwardly,  you  will  find  it  merging  in 
a  country  road  that  will  conduct  yon  to  Kingston  ;  if  you  ])ursue  it  witii  your 
lace  to  the  south,  you  will  in  due  time  arrive  at  Sandwich.  Trees,  of  which 
there  is  a  variety,  are  the  glory  of  Court  Street.  I  saw  in  some  streets  mag- 
nificent lindens,  horse-chestnuts,  and  elms  branching  quite  across  tlieiii ;  ami 
in  the  areas  such  early  tiowering  shrubs  as  forsythia,  spirava,  pyrus  japonica, 
and  lilac. 


osmo-ei?mj  .  N.\    J 


rLYMOLTH. 


263 


^liiny  houses  are  old,  but  there  are  none  U'ft  of  the  originals;  nor  any  so 
|iO(Miliar  as  to  demand  descrii)tion.  On  some  of  the  most  venerable  the  chim- 
neys are  masterpieces  of  masonry,  showing  curious  designs,  or,  in  some  in- 
stances, a  stack  of  angular  projections.  The  chimney  of  Governor  IJradfurd's 
house  is  said  to  have  been  furnished  with  a  sun-dial. 


IMLUKIM    IIAI.I,. 


Pursuing  your  way  along  Court  Street,  you  will  first  reach  Pilgrim  Ilall, 
a  structure  of  rough  granite,  in  the  style  of  a  Greek  temple,  the  prevailing 
taste  ill  New  England  fifty  years  ago  for  all  ])ublic  and  even  for  private 
liiiildiiigs.  Within  are  collected  many  souvenirs  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  of  the 
tribes  inhabiting  the  Old  Colony.  Lying 
ill  the  griiss-plot  before  the  hall  is  a  frag- 
inent  of  Forefathers'  Pock,  surrounded  by 
a  eireiilar  iron  fence,  and  labeled  in  figures 
occupying  the  larger  part  of  its  surface, 
with  the  date  of  1020.  In  this  place  it  be- 
oanio  iiothiiig  but  a  vulgar  stone.  T  did 
iKit  feel  my  pulses  at  all  quickened  on  be- 
hoKl 


iiig  It. 


BUEWSTEU'S  CHEST,  AM)  STANIJISirH    POT. 

One  end  of  the  hall  is  occupied  by  the 
well-known  painting  of  the  "Landing  of  the  Pilgrims,"  by  Sargent.  To  height- 
en the  effect,  the  artist  has  introduced  an  Indian  in  the  foreground,  an  historic 
anaelironism.  A  tall,  soldierly  figure  is  designated  as  ^Miles  Standish,  who  is 
reported  as  being  short,  and  scarce  manly  in  appearance.  The  canvas  is  of 
large  size,  and  the  grouping  does  not  lack  merit,  but  its  interest  is  made  to 


?.Q4 


TIIK  NKW  ENCJLAND  COAST. 


<lo[»en(l  on  the  fi(?urcs  of  Governor  Carver  atiil  of  Sanioset,  in  the  forogromul 
— both  hinder  than  life.  We  do  not  recognize,  in  tlie  cro\iehing  atlilndf  tif 
the  Indian,  the  erect  and  dauntless  Sainoset  jtortniyed  by  ]M()urt,  Uradl'ord, 
and  Winslow,  This  paint in<r,  wliicli  nnist  liave  cost  the  artist  great  lalior, 
was  generonsly  jtrcsented  to  the  I'ilgrini  Society.  I  have  seen  a  iiaiMtiiig 
of  the  "Landing"  in  whicli  a  boat  is  represented  ai>i)roaching  the  shore, 
filled  with  soldiers  in  red  coats.'  The  late  Professor  JNlorse  also  made  it  ilio 
subject  of  his  pencil. 


LANDING   OF  TIIK    PILORIMS,  FUOM  SAKOENT'S  PAINTING. 

There  are  on  the  walls  portraits  oi'  Governor  Edward  Winslow,  Governor 
Josiah  Winslow  and  wife,  and  of  (general  John  Winslow,  all  copies  of  origi- 
nals in  the  gallery  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  The  original  of 
Edward  Winslow  is  believed  to  be  a  Vandyke.  There  is  also  a  portrait  of 
Hon.  John  Trumbull,  presented  by  Colonel  John,  the  painter." 


■  In  ])osse.ssion  of  New  Englaiul  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  Boston.  It  is  hy  Conic,  a  ma- 
rine painter  of  some  rejaito  in  his  day. 

"  Otiier  portraits  are  of  Dr.  James  Timelier,  by  Frotiiingjiam,  and  of  .Tolin  Alden,  grcat-Kinnil- 
soii  of  John,  of  the  Mdi/f/oiri'r,  wlio  died  at  tlie  great  agr  of  one  imndred  and  two  years,  lie  "ih 
of  Middlehorougl).  Dr.  Tiiaclier,  a  surgeon  of  the  old  Continental  army,  deserves  more  space  tlinii 
I  am  able  to  give  liini.  He  lias  embodied  a  great  deiJ  of  Kevoluiionary  history,  in  a  very  interest- 
ing way,  in  his  "Military  Journal,"'  having  been  present  at  the  principal  battles. 


I'LYMOUTir. 


2G5 


lUlll'   ot' 

iViuUUi'il, 
[\t  l!il)or, 
paint  iiii,f 

,(lo  il  tilt) 


The  cal)inct3  contain  many  intiTt'stinu;  incMiiorials  of  tiio  lii-st  scttk-rs,  their 
amis,  implements,  household  furniture,  and  apparel.     I  refer  the  reader  to  the 


Governor 

lies  of  ovigi- 
loriixiiiiil  ot 
I  portrait  of 


Conu',  a  ma- 
ll, gveat-irniiul- 
lears.  H''""" 
lore  spnce  ilwin 
|i  very  imeiesl- 


(  Auvi:ii  s  ciiAiu. 
:ui(l(-l)(ioks  for  an  enumeration  of  tliem. 


Hiiiiwsi i:u  s  c'liAiu. 


MINC'lNliK.MFE. 


The  chairs  of  (lovernor  Carver  and 
ot  Elder  i>re\vster  are  good  speeimens  of  the  unconifortablo  yet  quaint  fur- 
iiisliiiig  of  their  time;  as  the  capacious  iron  pots,  pewter 
liliUters,  and  wooden  trenchers  are  suyo-estive  of  ;i  jirimi- 
tivo  people,  whose  town  was  a  camp.  I  t'lriey  there  were 
lew  hruiikages  ainong  the  dishes  of  these  Pilgrims,  for  they 
wi'iv  as  hard  as  their  owners;  nor  were  there  serious  de- 
(liu'lioiis  to  be  made  from  the  maids'  wages  on  the  day  ot 
vcfkuiiiiig.  I  confess  I  should  have  liked  to  see  liere,  in- 
stead of  the  somewhat  confusing  jumble  of  articles  jjcrtaining  to  Pilgrim  or 

Indian,  an  apartmont  e.Kclusively  de- 
voted to  the  houseliold  economy  of 
t])c  tirst-comers,  with  furniture  suita- 
bly arranged,  and  the  evidences  of 
their  frugal  housewifery  garnishing  the 
walls. 

Many  of  the  articles  said  to  have 
been  brought  over  in  the  3f<(i(ffowe)' 
are  doubtless  authentic,  but  the  num- 
ber of  objects  still  existing  and  claim- 
ing some  part  of  the  immortality  of 
that  little  bark  would  freight  an  India- 
man  of  good  tonnage.  There  is  a  still  pretty  sampler,  embroidered  by  the 
cpitler  fingers  of  a  Puritan  maiden,  with  a  sentiment  worth  the  copying  by 
any  fair  damsel  in  the  land: 


I'EKEGKINE  WHITE'S  CAIilNET. 


206 


THK  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


"Loica  StJiiulisli  is  my  imiiie. 

Lord,  K'litlu  n>y  ''«'"t  ''"''  '  ni"J'  ''"o  ^V  will; 
Also  till  my  liaiuls  with  .siicli  coiivuiiii-iit  Hkill 
As  miiy  conduce  to  virtue  void  of  siuimc; 
And  1  will  give  the  glory  to  thy  nuine." 

And  lit'i'c  is  tlio  c!ini:il  woapoii  of  Milos  Staudisli,  tlie  liviiij;  sword-Minlc 
of  tho  colony.  It  lacks  not  much  of  ati  English  ell  fiuin 
hilt  to  point,  and  looks  still  able  to  push  its  way  in  the 
world  if  well  grasped.  The  weapon  lias  a  bi'ass  cross  mikI 
miard,  and  n'S('nd»li's  those  trenchant  Flofentine  blades 
of  tlie  sixteenth  ceiiHii'v,  with  its  channels,  curved  point, 
and  line  temper.  The  sword  figures  in  Mr.  J.ongii'llow's 
"Courtship  of  Miles  Standish,"  where  we  may  hear  it 
clank  at  the  captain's  heels  as  he  goes  from  his  wratlil'ul 
interview  with  John  Aldeii,  slamming  the  door  after  liini, 
no  doubt,  like  the  tenipestuous  little  tea-pot  he  was.  Tho 
inscription  on  the  blade  has  baffled  the  snrttns.  For  such 
a  hot-ti'inpered  cajjlain  it  shoidd  have  been  that  eii!,raveil 
on  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury's  sword, 

"I  am  Talbot's,  tor  to  slay  his  foes." 

It  could  hardly  have  been  this  legetid,  with  a  ]»oiiit 
inscribed  on  a  broadsword  of  the  seventeenth  century: 

"  Qui  nluiUo  ferit 
Gludio  peril. " 


STANDISU'S   SWOHP. 


Speaking  of  swords,  I  am  reminded  tliat  tho  first  duel 
in  New  England  was  at  Plymouth,  in  the  year  1021.  It 
was  between  Edwaril  Doty  or  Doteii,  and  Edward  Leister, 
servants  of  Steven  Hopkins.  They  fought  with  sword  and  d.agger,  like  tlii'ir 
betters,  and  were  both  wounded.  Having  no  statute  against  the  offense,  llic 
Pilgrims  met  in  council  to  determine  on  the  punishment.  It  was  exemplary. 
The  parties  were  ordered  to  be  tied  together,  hand  and  foot,  and  to  rt'm.iiii 
twenty-four  hours  without  food  or  drink.  Tlic  intercession  of  their  master 
and  their  own  entreaties  procured  their  release  before  the  sentence  w;is  car- 
lied  out. 

In  the  front  of  the  court-house  is  a  mural  tablet,  witli  the  seal  of  the  <)M 
Colony  scidptured  in  relief.  The  quarterings  of  the  shield  represent  four 
kneeling  figures,  having  each  a  flaming  heart  in  its  hands.  On  one  side  of 
the  figures  is  a  small  tree,  indicative,  I  suppose,  of  the  infant  growth  of  the 
plantation.  The  attitude  and  senii-ntide  api)earance  indicate  an  Indian,  the 
subsequent  device  of  jNIassachusetts,  and  are  at  once  significant  of  his  sub- 
jection, hearty  welcome,  and  ultimate  loyalty.     The  colony  seal  is  said  to 


PLYMOUTH. 


267 


liavohocn  abstracted  from  tlu!  arcliivos  in  Andros's  tiino,a»i(l  iiovor  rocovcix'd.' 
It>  icLTtMid  was  "I'liiiicvth  Nov-Aii<,'lia,  Sigillviii  Sociutatis,"  with  the  dato  uf 
lO-'C  :il)ove  the  shield.  The  union  with  Mas- 
wu'liiisi'ttSjin  1092, dispensed  witli  the  neees- 
sity  lor  a  separate  seal. 

I  saw,  in  tlie  office  of  tlio  liegister,  the 
rcciinls  of  tlie  First  Ciiurch  of  I'lyinouth, 
l)t'_<,niii  and  continued  by  Nathaniel  M(.»rton 
to  lO^iO.  The  court  records,  as  well  as  the 
ancient  charter,  on  which  the  ink  is  so 
faded  as  to  bo  scarcely  legible,  are  careful- 
ly kept. 

Uiit  the  compact,  that  august  instru- 
nieiit,  1  did  not  sci",  nor  is  the  fate  of  the 
original  known.  Its  language  bears  an  ex- 
traordinary similitude  to  the  j)reamble  of  llie  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  in  its  spirit  and  idea.  The  mime  of  the  king  is  there  in  good  set 
plirase;  but  the  soul  of  the  thing  is  its  assumption  of  sovereignty  in  the 
people.  See  now  how  King  James  iigures  at  the  head  and  the  tail  of  it,  and 
then  look  into  the  heart  of  the  nnvtter: 

"111  y''  name  of  (lod,  Amen.  We  wliose  n.imes  are  nnderwrittcn,  tlie  loyall  subjects  of  our 
dread  soveraigiie  Lonl,  King  James,  by  y"  grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britaine,  Franc,  &  Ireland,  King, 
ilefeiidcr  of  y"  faith,  &c.,  baveing  undertaken,  for  y"  glorio  of  God  and  advaneementc  of  y"  Cliris- 
tiiiii  fiiitli  and  honour  of  our  king  «&  countrie,  a  voyage  to  ]dant  y'"  first  colonic  in  y"^  Nortlierne 
pints  of  Virginia,  doe  by  these  jiresents  solemnly  i!i:  mutiialy  in  y"  piesence  of  God,  and  one  of  an- 
otiier,  covenant  and  combine  our  selves  togeather  in  a  civill  body  politick,  for  our  better  ordering 
&  iireservation  &  furtherance  of  y"  ends  aforesaid;  and  by  vertne  iiearof  to  enacte,  constitute,  and 
frame  smli  just  &  c(iuall  hiwes,  ordinances,  acts,  constitutions  «ic  otlices,  from  time  to  time,  as  shall 
be  tlidiigiit  most  meete  &  convenent  for  y"  generall  good  of  y'  Colonic,  unto  which  we  promise  all 
tliie  siihinission  and  obedience.  In  witnes  wherof  we  have  hereunder  subscribed  our  names  at 
fiifi-rddd  y^  11  of  November,  in  y"  year  of  y""  raigno  of  our  soveraigne  lord,  King  .lames  of  Kii- 
1,'liiiui,  I'laiic,  &  Ireland  y"  eighteenth  >&  of  Scotland  y''  fil'iie  fourth.  An":  Dom.  Ki'JO." 

Bradford  says  the  bomi  was  ]iartly  due  to  the  mutinous  spirit  of  some  of 
tlie  strangers  on  boar-l  the  JLti/^ffoirer,  and  partly  to  the  belief  that  sueh  an 
act  might  be  as  firm  as  any  ])atent,  and  in  some  respects  more  sure.  It  is 
impossible  not  to  be  interested  in  the  lives  of  such  men ;  they  were  deeply  in 
earnest. 

Ill  IG.IO  the  first  public  execution  took  place  in  "^^lymoutli.  The  culprit 
was  .Tolin  IVillington,  who,  as  Bradford  wrote  home  to  England,  was  a  knave, 
and  so  would  live  and  die.  IJillington  had  waylaid  and  sliot  one  of  the  town,'' 
and  was  adjudged  guilty  of  murder.  The  colony  patent  could  not  confer  a 
power  it  did  not  itself  possess  to  inflict  the  death  penalty,  so  they  took  coun- 


'  "Pilgrim  Memorial." 


'  John  Newcomen. 


268 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


s"l  of  tlit'ir  frioiiils  Just  conic  into  ]\I;issacluiSL'tts  Buy,  und  were  advised  to 
"purge  tlie  hurl  of  blood." 

Ill  1658,  tlie  crime  of  adultery  appears  to  be  iirst  noticed  in  the  laws. 
The  punishment  of  this  offense  was  two  whippings,  the  persons  convictc'l  to 
wear  two  capita  letters  "A.  1)."  cut  in  cloth  and  sewed  ou  tlieir  uppermost 
garment,  on  their  arm  or  back;  if  tliey  removed  the  letters,  they  wei'c  a^iiiii 
to  be  ])ublicly  whipped.  Another  law,  that  would  bear  rather  hardly  on  tin* 
present  generation,  was  as  follows:  Any  persons  "who  1)ehaved  themselves 
profanely  by  being  without  doors  at  the  meeting-liouses  on  the  Lord's  day, 
in  time  of  exercis-. ,  and  there  niisdemeinruig  themselves  by  jestings,  sleepin^s, 
or  the  like,"  were  first  to  be  admonished,  and  if  they  did  not  refrain,  set  in  the 
stocks;  and  if  still  unreclaimed,  cited  before  the  court. 

Josselyn,  writing  of  tiie  old  "  IJody  of  Laws  of  1640,"  says,  "Scolds  they 
gag  and  set  them  at  their  (h)ors  foi-  certain  hours,  for  all  comers  and  [^oers  by 
to  ga/e  at."  And  here  is  inaterial  Ibr  the  "Scarlet  Letter:"  "An  English 
woman  suliering  an  Lidin'i  to  have  carnal  knowledge  of  her  was  obligiil  to 
wear  an  Indian  cut  out  oi'  red  cloth  sewed  upon  her  right  arm,  and  woiii 
twelve  months."  Swearing  was  punished  by  boring  through  the  tongue  w  itli 
a  liot  iron;  adultery  with  death. 

"^Phe  chronicles  of  the  l*ilu;rims  have  underuone  many  strange  vicissitiii]i  >, 
but  are  fortunately  quite  full  and  complete.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  know 
more  of  tlieir  lives  during  their  tirst  year  at  I'lyuiouth  than  is  given  b,  liiail- 
i'ord  or  Morton,  (lovernor  Bradford's  manuscript  history  of  I'lymoutli  iil.iii- 
tatiou  was  ])robably  ])urloined  form  Mie  New  England  J^ibrary  deposited  in 
the  Old  South  Church  of  JJoston,  during  the  siege  of  1775.  It  found  its  way 
to  the  Fulham  Library  in  I'^ngland,  was  discovered,  and  a  copy  made  wliicli 
lias  since  been  printed,  after  remaining  in  manuscript  more  than  two  hinnlied 
years.  The  letter-book  of  Governor  l>iadlbnl  lias  a  similar  history,  h  w:is 
rescued  from  a  grocer's  shop  in  Halifax,  alter  the  destruction  of  half  its  in- 
valuable contents. 

The  next  best  thing  to  be  ^ono  is  probably  to  go  at  once  to  the  top  of 
IJurial  Hill,  which  is  liere  what  the  Hoe  is  to  English  Plymouth.  Here,  at 
least,  arc  ])leuty  of  memorials  of  the  I*ilgrims,  and  here  town  and  harbor  are 
outspread  for  jierusal.  Seen  at  full  tide,  the  harbor  appears  a  goodly  ]iort 
enough,  but  it  is  left  as  bare  by  the  ebb  as  if  tin*  sea  had  been  comniainleil 
to  remove  and  become  dry  land.  Xothing  except  a  broad  expanse  ol'  sand- 
bars and  mussel  shoals,  with  luxui'iant  growth  of  eel-grass,  meets  the  eye. 
Tinough  these  a  narrow  and  devious  cl'.annel  makes  its  way.  The  b.iy,  liow- 
over,  could  not  be  called  tamo  with  two  such  Landmarks  as  Captain's  Hill 
on  Duxbury  side,  ami  the  promontory  of  ^^fanomet  on  the  shoulder  of  tlie 
Capo. 

Plymoutli  Bay  is  formed  by  the  jutting-oui  of  Manoinot  on  the  south,  and 
by  th(!  long-attenuated  strip  of  sand  kiu)wn  as  Duxbury  Beatl,  ou  tlie  north. 


PLYMOUTH. 


260 


iscd  to 

e  laws 
ictfl  to 
pennost 
•0  a;j;aiii 
f  oil  tin' 
;insolv('S 

(Vs  day, 
k'01)iu;is, 
et  ill  llio 

.1(V'  tliry 
o'oers  by 
1  Eniiilisli 
ibliuiil  to 
uud  worn 
iigue  with 

uis^^ilii'los, 
t  10  know 
,1  by  l'.raa- 
outli  iil:iu- 
ositetl  in 
a  it-  way 
do  wliicli 
.  huinlml 
It  was 
Kilt'  its  in- 

lio  to]>  of 
1  lore,  at 
luirhor  ave 

ooilly  l"'!''- 
oniniainU'd 
<(>  of  >and- 
the  I'VO. 
\)ay,  liow- 
.laiii's  Hill 
Idol-  of  tlif 

sonlli,  and 
I  ho  nortli- 


PLYMOUTH 
BAY 

'^  Milti 
jierJJicTi 


This  bcacli  torminatos  in  a 
HiiialltT  pattern  of  the  cel- 
t'l)iatt'd  Italian  boot  that 
looks  equally  ready  to  play 
lU  foot- ball  with  JSicily  or 
to  kick  intruders  out  of  the 
"\lodilerraneaii.  The  heel  of 
ihc  hoot  is  toward  the  sea, 
mid  called  The  Gurnet;  the 
too  points  landward,  and  is 
calk'd  SjKjuish  Head.  Just 
witliiu  the  toe  of  the  boot 
isClark^:  Island,  named  from 
the  master's  mate  of  the 
}[itiifi(ni:er;  then  comes  Cap- 
\\(\\\\  Hill,  making,  with  the 
li(.';u'l),  Diixbiiry  Harbor; 
iiikI  ii!  the  farthest  reach 
of  the  bay  to  the  westward 
is  Kingston,  where  a  little 
wa'i'i-course,  called  after  the 
master  of  the  Mai/JJower,^ 
makes  up  into  the  land.  In 
the  southern  board  Cape 
Cod  is  seen  on  a  clear  day 
far  out  at  sea;  a  mere  shining  streak  of  white  sand  it  appears  at  this  distance. 

riymouth  harbor  proper  is  formed  by  a  long  sand-spit  parallel  vith  the 
shore,  that  serves  as  a  l)reakwaLer  for  llie  sliallow  roadstead.  It  is  anrdiored 
where  it  is,  for  the  wiiuls  would  blow  it  away  else,  by  wooden  cribs  on  whidi 
the  drifting  sands  are  mounded  ;  and  it  is  also  tethered  by  beach-grass  root- 
ed in  the  hillocks  or  downs  that  fringe  the  harbor  siue.  Now  and  then  ex- 
tensive repairs  arc  necessary  to  make  good  tlie  ravages  of  a  winter's  sea-lasli- 
iiisr*,  as  many  as  six  hundred  tons  of  stone  having  b(.'cn  added  to  the  brc-ak- 
water  at  the  Point  at  one  time.  Ibaish  is  placed  in  the  jetties,  and  thousands 
tif  roots  of  beach-grass  are  planted  to  catch  and  stay  the  shifting  sands.  The 
harbor  is  lighted  at  evening  1  /  twin  lights  on  the  Gi  rnet  and  by  a  single 
eiie  off  i'lvinouth  Beach.  The  latter  is  a  caisson  of  iron  rooted  to  the  rock 
by  a  tilling  of  concrete,  and  is  washed  on  all  sides  by  the  waters  of  the  harbor. 

^aiid  is  everywhere;  the  "stern  and  rock-bound  coast"  of  Mrs.  Ilemans 
nowlkve.  Except  one  little  cluster  by  the  northern  sliore  of  the  harbor,  the 
Forefathers'  is  the  only  rock  on  which  those  pious  men  could  have  landed 

'  Jones's  Rivor, 


MAI'  OF  I'l.vMofTii  ha;'. 


270 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


with  dry  feet.  A  few  Loulders,  noticeably  infre(juent,  are  scattered  along  tlie 
beach  as  you  approach  from  Kingston.  The  hills  on  which  the  town  is  built 
appear  lean  and  emaciated,  P'  '*''  a  light  yellow  earth  with  which  they  arc 
furnished  were  a  compronn>  veen  sand  and  soil.    The  gardens  and  house- 

plots,  nevertheless,  thrive  if  liicy  have  moisture  enough.  Few  vessels  were 
lying  in  the  harbor,  for  Plymoutli  lias  at  present  little  or  no  commerce;  yet 
of  these,  two  small  colliers  were  larger  than  the  little  JIai/Jfoiccr  that  car- 
ried a  greater  than  Cajsar  and  his  fort\ines.' 

The  Pilgrims  brought  the  name  of  their  settlement  along  with  tlieni, 
though  Captain  John  Smith  gives  it  first  the  Indian  name  of  Accomack, 
changed  by  Prince  Charles  to  I'limouth,  as  it  appears  on  the  map  accom- 
panying "Advertisements  for  the  Unexperienced."  The  port  was,  however, 
earlier  known  to  both  French  and  English.  Samoset  told  the  Pilgrims,  at 
Ids  first  interview  with  them,  the  Indian  name  was  Patuxet."  Prince,  in- 
deed, assigtis  a  date  (December  31st)  for  tlie  formal  assumption  of  the  En- 
glish name.' 

]*lymouth,  England,  from  which  tlie  Pilgrims  finally  set  sail  on  the  Gtli  of 
Sejitember,  IGIO,  is  situated  at  the  extreme  north-west  corner  of  iJevonshire, 
and  is  divided  from  Cornwall  only  by  the  river  Tamar.  Tlij  name  has  mi 
other  significance  than  the  mouth  of  the  river  Phjm.  Exniouth  and  Dart- 
mouth have  the  like  derivation.  Plymouth  was  long  the  residence  of  Sic 
Francis  Drake,  and  was  the  liirthplace  ofSirJohn  Hawkins;  also  of  the  paint- 
ers Norlhcote,  Prout,  and  li.  Ilaydon.  Captain  John  Davis,  the  intrepid  nav- 
igator, and  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  who,  (^ueen  Elizabeth  said,  was  a  "  man  of 
noe  good  hajip  by  sea,"  were  also  of  Devonshire.  It  is  of  the  two  rivers  upon 
which  the  "Three  Towns"  stand  that  old  ^lichael  Drayton  writes: 

'•  I'lvm  tii;it  eliiiins  In-  rifjlit 
Tlie  cliristetiiiig  of  tluu  IJiiy,  wliicli  bears  her  noble  nnii. ..' 

In  spite  of  historic  antecedents,  English  Plymouth  was  distasteful  to  Lord 
Nelson,  who  says,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Tiady  Hamilton,  "I  hate  Plymouth." 
American  Plymouth  should  owe  no  grudgc!  to  his  memory,  for  he  did  a  very 
noble  act  to  one  of  her  townsmen.  AVhile  ciuising  on  our  coast  in  the  Alhe- 
marie,  in  1V82,  Nelson  captured  a  fishing  scdooner  belonging  to  Plymoutli. 
The  cargo  of  the  vessel  constitut<'d  nearly  the  whole  property  of  Captain 
Carver,  the  master,  who  had  a  large  fami'y  at  home  anxiously  awaitinj,'  \w> 
return.  There  being  no  officer  on  board  the  Alhctnarle  acquainted  with  r>.'sto!i 
Bay,  Nelson  ordered  the  master  of  the  prize  to  act  as  pilot.  He  perfonuoil 
the  service  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  captor,  who  requited  him  by  giving  liim 
his  vessel  and  cargo  back  again,  with  a  certificate  to  ])revent  recapture  by 


'  Tlie  Mil  If  flower  was  only  one  liiniilred  anil  eiglity  tons  burden, 
•  1  do  not  (ind  any  exact  authority  tor  this. 


Aronrt. 


rLYMOUTIL 


271 


otli'T  Fnitisli  cruisers.  SirN.  Harris  Nicolas  relates  that  Nelson  acconipaiiietl 
tills  generous  act  with  words  equally  generous:  "  Vou  have  reiulered  nie, 
sir,  a  very  essential  service,  and  it  is  not  the  cusioni  ot'Englisli  seamen  to  be 
uiiijratel'ul.  In  the  name,  therefore,  and  with  the  approbation  of  the  officers 
of  tills  ship,  I  return  your  schooner,  and  with  it  this  certificate  of  your  good 
conduct.'     Farewell !  and  may  God  bless  you." 

The  choice  of  the  site  of  Plyniouth  by  the  I^ilgrims  was  duo  rather  to  the 
pressing  necessities  of  their  situation  than  to  a  well-considered  determination. 
Arriving  on  our  coast  in  the  beginning  of  winter,  after  nearly  six  weeks  passed 
ill  explorations  that  enfeebled  the  hardiest  among  them,  they  found  their  pro- 
visions iailing,  wiiile  the  increasing  rigor  of  the  season  called  for  a  speedy 
decision.  As  it  was  not  their  destination,  so  it  may  readily  be  conceive<l  they 
were  not  prepared  beforehand  with  su(;h  knowledge  of  tlie  coast  as  might 
now  he  most  serviceable  to  them.  Cheated  by  their  captain,  they  had  thrown 
away  the  valuable  time  spent  in  searching  the  barren  cape  for  a  harbor  fit 
tor  settlement.  Smith,  in  his  egotism,  administers  a  rebuke  to  them  in  this 
wise : 

"Yet  at  the  first  landing  at  f^apc  Cod,  being  an  hundred  passengers,  be- 
sides twenty  they  had  left  behind  at  Plbitonth  for  want  of  good  take  heed, 
thinking  to  find  all  things  better  than  I  advised  them,  spent  six  or  seven  weeks 
ill  wandering  up  and  downe  in  frost  and  snow,  wind  and  raine,  among  the 
woods,  cricks,  and  swamps,  forty  of  them  died,  and  three-score  were  left  in  a 
most  miserable  estate  at  New  Plimouth,  wliero  their  ship  left  them,  and  but 
nine  leagues  by  sea  from  where  they  landed,  whose  misery  and  variable  opin- 
ions, for  want  of  experience,  occasioned  much  faction,  till  necessity  agreed 
them.'' 

It  is  not  easily  understood  why  they  should  have  remained  in  so  unprom- 
ising a  location  after  a  better  knowledge  of  the  country  had  been  obtained. 
To  the  north  was  ^lassachusetts,  called  by  Smith  "the  paradise  of  those 
parts."  South-west  of  them  was  the  fertile  Narraganset  country,  with  fair 
Aqnidiieek  within  tlieir  patent.  In  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  the  whole  of 
PlyniMiilh  colony  would  not  have  made  one  populous  town.  liut  there  are 
indleatloiis  that  a  removal  was  kept  in  view.  Their  brethren  in  Leyden, 
who  saw  the  hand  of  God  in  their  first  choice,  advised  them  not  to  abandon 
it.  In  10;i:i  they  established  a  trading-house  on  the  Connecticut,  and  wlien 
afterward  dispossessed  by  ]\rassachusetts,  alleged  as  a  reason  for  liolding  a 
post  there  that  "they  lived  upon  a  barren  place,  where  they  were  by  necessi- 
ty oast,  and  neither  they  nor  theirs  couhl  long  continue  upon  the  same,  arid 
Avhy  should  they  be  deprived  of  that  which  they  Iiad  provided  and  intended 


'  ''("his  is  to  certify  .hnt  I  took  the  schooner  ff:tnnnnj/,  Nutlinniel  C.'irA-cr.  master,  tielonging  to 

I'iyniouili,  but,  on  account  of  iiis  good  nerviccs,  have  given  iiini  up  Iiis  vessel  a^uiii. 

"  IIouATto  Nelson. 
"DiUcd  ou  board  H.M.  etiip  .Ubcmaih,  17th  AuRUst,  ITS'i." 


l^^^li- 


^mmi 


272 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


to  remove  to  as  soon  as  tliey  wove  able?'"  Yet,  like  fatalists  they  continuod 
on  the  very  shores  to  whicli  Providence  had  directed  thcni. 

When  the  Pili^rinis  explored  the  bay,  they  were  at  tirst  nndeterniiiiod 
whether  to  make  choice  of  Clark's  Island,  the  shores  of  the  little  river  at 
Ivingston,  or  the  sjtot  on  the  maiii-land  which  became  their  nltimate  abode. 
The  high  gronn<l  of  Plymonth  shore,  the  "sweete  brooke"  nnder  tlie  hill-side, 
and  the  large  tract  of  land  ready  cleared  for  their  use,  settled  the  question; 
the  high  hill  from  which  they  might  see  Cape  Cod,  and  withal  very  fit  for  :i 
citadel,  clenched  their  decision. 

It  did  not  seem  to  occur  to  the  Pilgrims  that  to  i)itch  their  residence  in  a 
place  desolated  by  the  visitation  of  (iod  was  at  all  ill-omened.  In  t".  t  -c  cir- 
cuit of  the  bay  they  did  not  see  an  Indian  or  an  Indian  wigwam,  though  they 
met  with  traces  of  a  former  habitation.  Added  to  the  sadness  and  gloom  of 
the  landscape,  the  frozen  earth,  the  bare  and  leafless  trees,  was  a  sileiuie  iiid 
alone  of  nature,  but  of  death.  The  plague  had  cleared  the  way  for  tliein; 
they  built  n])on  graves. 

This  terrible  foreruimer  of  the  English  is  alluded  to  by  several  of  the  old 
writers.  It  swept  the  coast  from  the  Fi'csh  Water  IJiver  to  the  Peuubscoi, 
with  a  destructiveiiess  like  to  that  witnessed  in  London  a  few  years  later. 
Sir  F.  Gorges  tells  is  that  the  Indians  inhabiting  the  region  round  about  tlie 
embouchure  of  theS.ico  were  sorely  attticted  with  it, "so  that  the  country  was 
in  a  manner  left  void  of  inhabitants."  Vines,  Sir  Ferdinando's  agent,  with  iiis 
comi)anions,  slept  in  the  cabins  with  those  that  died  ;  but,  to  their  good  tor- 
tune,  as  the  narrative  iptaintly  sets  forth,  "not  one  of  them  ever  felt  tliciv 
lieads  to  ache  while  they  stayed  there."  This  Mas  in  the  year  101(J-'17. 
Levett  says  the  Indians  at  "A(pnimen(icus"  were  all  dead  when  he  was  lluiv. 
Samos."  explains,  in  his  broken  Fiiglish,  to  the  I'ilgrims  that  the  lawful  occu- 
pants of  Patuxet  had,  four  years  before,  been  swept  away  by  an  extraordi- 
nary plague.  The  Indians  had  lU'ver  seen  or  heard  of  the  disease  bet'orc. 
Villages  withered  away  when  the  blight  fell  upon  them  ;  tril)es  were  obliter- 
ated, and  nations  were  reduced  to  tribes.  Doubtless,  this  disaster  had  imicli 
to  do  with  the  )»eaceable  settlement  of  Plymouth,  Salem,  and  IJoston.  Had 
the  Pilgrims  been  everywhere  resisted,  as  at  Nauset,  they  coidd  hardly  have 
]tlanted  their  colony  in  Plymonth  Bay. 

Tliere  was  another  cause  to  which  the  English  owed  their  safety,  as  ridated 
to  them  by  many  aged  Indians.  A  French  ship  had  been  cast  away  on  Ca])c 
Cod.  The  crew  succeeded  in  landing,  but  the  Indians,  less  merciful  than  tin' 
sea,  butchered  all  but  three  of  them.  Two  vvere  ransomed  by  Deriner,  om' 
of  Sir  F.  Gorges's  captains.  The  other  remained  with  the  savages,  acquired 
their  language,  ami  died  among  them.  Before  his  death  he  foretold  that  (Jod 
was  angry,  and  would  destroy  them,  and  give  their  lieritage  to  a  strange  peo- 


'  Governor  BrnUford's  "History  of  rivmouth." 


J'LY.MOUril. 


ivn 


ntinuod 

L'rmincil 
viver  at 
e  abodo. 
liill-sido, 
[Uestioii ; 
tit  lor  a 

once  in  a 
t'. !  r  cii'- 
iiiih  ihi'v 
<j;l(toin  of 
k'lici'  imt 
lor  tliein; 

of  tlu'  old 
Vnubscol, 
cars  later, 
about  the 
)uiitry  was 
It,  Avith  liis 

'  rrood   tor- 

fult  llu'iv 
Kit  0-17. 

was  tlicre. 

wfiil  oira- 
cxtraoidi- 

aso  before. 

c  oblitcr- 

i:id  iiiiicli 

ton.     Had 

iViUy  liavt' 

as  related 
IV  on  I'apc 
il  tliaii  tlu' 
leruKT,  one 
s,  aeqnirod 

Ithattiod 
mere  poo- 
i! 


el 


pie.  Tlioy  (Icriilod  hitn,  and  answered  boastfully,  tlioy  were  so  stronn;  and  nu- 
merous tuat  the  INEanitou  could  not  kill  tlioiu  all.  Soon  after  tlie  pe.stilence  de- 
poiiiilated  the  country.  Then  came  tlie  Kn<;lisliinen  in  their  shij)S.  The  sav- 
iiij;es  assembled  in  a  dark  swamj),  where  their  conjurors,  with  iucuntalions  last- 
inn;  several  days,  solemnly  cursed  the  pale-faces,  devoting  them  to  destruction. 
Thus  the  Englisli  found  safety  in  the  superstitious  awe  of  the  natives.  The 
stery  of  the  terrible  jdague  is  as  yet  unwritten.  Governor  Bradford  says 
that  when  Winslow  went  to  confer  with  ^Massasoit,  lie  j)assed  by  numbers  of 
unliiuied  skulls  and  bones  of  those  who  had  died. 

Captain  Levett  is  corroborative  of  the  Pilgrims'  settled  intention  to  de- 
part from  their  original  i)laco  of  settlement.     He  observes  in  his  "Voyage 


''  «  v 


into  Aew  Kngland:"  "  A'either  was  1  at  rsew  llymouth,  but  1  tear  that  place 
is  not  so  good  as  many  others ;  for  if  it  were,  in  my  conceit,  they  woidd  con- 
tent themselves  with  it,  and  not  seek  for  any  other,  having  ten  times  so  much 
ground  as  would  serve  ten  times  so  many  people  as  they  liave  now  among 
tiieiii.  Ibit  it  seems  they  have  no  fish  to  make  benefit  of;  for  this  year  they 
litul  one  ship  fisli  at  Pemaquid,  and  another  at  Cape  Ann,  where  they  have  be- 
gun a  new  ])lantation,  but  how  long  it  will  continue  I  know  not." 

It  is  evident  from  the  testimony  that  the  settlement  at  Plymouth  was  ill- 
considered,  and  that  the  Pilgrims  were  themselves  far  from  satisfied  \vith  it. 
In  this,  too,  we  have  the  solution  of  the  rapid  overshadowing  of  the  Old  Col- 
ony by  its  neighbors,  and  the  fading  away  of  its  political  and  commercial  im- 
portance. 

There  is  no  manner  of  doubt  that  Plymouth  had  been  visited  by  wdiites 
long  hefore  the  advent  of  the  Jfii/^ffower^s  band.  Hutchinson  erroneously 
savs  Do  3Ionts  "did  not  go  into  the  Massachusetts  bav,  but  struck  over  from 
some  part  of  the  eastern  shore  to  Ca[)e  Aim,  and  so  to  Cape  Cod,  and  sailed 
farther  southward."     Definite  is  this! 

It  was  the  object  of  De  Monts  to  examine  the  coast,  and  liis  pilot  seems 
to  have  kept  in  Avith  it  as  closely  as  possible,  making  a  harbor  every  night 
where  one  was  to  be  found.  The  Indian  pilot  proved  to  have  little  knowl- 
oilgc  of  the  shores  or  of  the  language  of  the  tribes  to  the  westward  of  the 
Sac'o;  for  on  being  confronted  with  the  natives  of  the  Massachusetts  country, 
lie  was  not  able  to  understand  them.  Gorges  recounts  that  his  natives  from 
Pemaquid  and  from  Martha's  Vineyard  at  first  hardly  comprehended  each 
other. 

Hutchinson,  it  is  probable,  saw  the  edition  of  "Champlain's  Voyages"  of 
10;i2,  contenting  himself  with  a  cursory  e.xamiiiatioti  of  it.  An  attentive 
I'f'ailina"  of  the  text  of  the  edition  of  It)l;5  would  have  undeceived  him  as  to 
the  movements  of  De  Monts.  Although  the  reprint  of  1032  gives  the  sub- 
stance of  the  voyage,  it  is  so  mutilated  in  its  details  as  to  afford  scanty  satis-  • 
faction  to  the  student. 

After  leaving  Cape  Ann,  Do  Monts  entered  Boston  Bay  and  saw  Charles 

18 


274 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


River,  named  by  his  compuny  "  Hivicro  dii  Oas,"  in  compliment  to  tlioir  olii.f. 
From  thence  they  continued  tlicir  route  to  a  pliice  tliat  has  for  the  moment  a 
greater  interest.  Given  the  hitilude,  tlie  physical  features,  and  the  distaiiee 
from  Cai)e  Ami,  we  are  at  no  loss  to  put  the  finger  on  Plynu)Uth  Uay,  of 
which  the  geographer  of  the  expedition  is  the  first  to  give  us  a  description. 

The  wind  coming  contrary,  they  dropped  anchor  in  a  little  roadstead.' 
Wl)ile  lying  there  they  were  boarded  by  canoes  that  had  been  out  fisliing  for 
cod.  These,  <>-oin"-  to  shore,  notified  their  companions,  who  assembled  on  tlic 
sands,  dancing  and  gesticulating  in  token  of  amity  and  welcome.  A  canou 
from  the  bark  landed  with  a  few  trifles  with  which  the  simple  natives  were 
Avell  pleased,  and  begged  their  strange  visitors  to  come  and  visit  thoni  wiili- 
in  their  river.  The  man-stealers  had  not  yet  been  among  them.  They  olUr- 
ed  a  simple  but  sincere  hospitality. 


Ia/tS*M0Jf^ 


CUAMPLAIN'S   map.— pout   cape   ST.  LOLIS. 

Let  us  have  recourse  to  the  musty  pages  and  antiquated  French  ofChnm- 
plain,  following  in  the  wake  of  the  bark  as  it  weathers  the  Gurnet,  and  dou- 
bles Sacpiish,  with  the  cheery  cry  of  the  leadsman,  and  the  eyes  of  l)c  Moiits, 
Champlain,  and  Chainpdore  fixed  on  the  shores  of  coming  renown: 

"Nous  Icvames  I'ancre  pour  cc  faiic,  niais  nous  n'y  pcusmcs  cntrer  a  cause  du  pcu  d'c.iii  que 
nous  y  tiouvamcs  estans  dc  basse  mer  ct  fumes  contrainctcs  de  mouiller  Tancic  ;i  I'ditiee 
d'icclfe.  jc  decendis  i  terra  oil  j'eu  vis  (|,iantite  d'autres  qui  nous  re9eurent  fort  gratieuscmeiit : 
et  fus  rccognoistre  la  riviere,  oil  n'y  a  vey  autre  cliosc  qu'un  bras  d'eau  qui  s'estant  quelqiic  pcu 


'  Green's  Ilnrbor,  perhaps. 


a^afe^L'j'^^^wArV^' 


PLYMOUTH. 


275 


oiin'iu  a 
ilislance 

li:iy,  ol" 
•'H)tion. 
a<lsl(':ul.' 
isluii;4  t'ov 
od  on  tlu' 

A  cauoe 
ivt'S  were 
lem  w'uli- 
L^hcy  ulVev- 


lc-h  of  C'liam- 
ict,  and  do"- 
)f  Do  Mouts, 

III : 

lincrc  a  rciUvce 
I  graliciiscment : 
lint  ciucUnie  F" 


(hill-.  Ics  terres  qui  font  en  partie  dcscrtecs:  dedans  Icqucl  il  n'y  a  qn'un  ruisscau  (lui  ne  pout 
|ii)itcr  bastcaux  sinon  do  pleine  men  Ce  lieu  pent  avoir  unc  lieue  de  eirciiit.  Kn  I'lnif  dcs  en- 
trcts  dii{|uel  y  a  une  maniere  d'icelle  couveite  de  hois  et  principalemcnt  de  pins  qui  tient  d'un 
costc  a  dcs  dunes  de  sable,  qui  font  asse/  lon^ues  :  I'autre  eosle  est  une  tene  assc/,  haute.  II  y 
a  deux  islets  dans  lad.  Have,  qu"on  ne  voit  point  si  Ton  n'est  dedans,  ou  autour  la  mer  asscehe 
[)rcM|ni-  toute  de  basse  mer.  Ce  lieu  est  fort  remarquable  de  la  nier  ;  d'autant  que  la  coste  est 
fort  basse,  horniis  Ic  cap  de  I'entrce  dc  la  IJaye  qu'avons  noinnie  le  port  du  cap  St.  Louys  distant 
dud.  cap  deux  lieues  et  dix  du  Cap  aux  Isles.     11  est  environ  par  le  hauteur  du  Cap  St.  Louys." 

TIJANSI.ATION.' 

We  raised  the  anchor  to  do  this,  but  we  could  not  enter  therein  by  reason  of  the  little  water 
which  we  found  there,  being  low  sea,  and  were  eonstriiined  to  let  go  the  anchor  at  the  entrance  of 
it,  I  went  iishore,  where  I  saw  numbers  of  natives  who  received  us  very  graciously,  and  surveyed 
ilie  river,  wliich  is  nothing  more  than  an  arm  of  water  that  makes  a  little  way  in  the  lands  which 
are  in  part  deserted,  within  which  it  is  only  a  rivulet  that  can  not  float  vessels  excejil  at  full  sea. 
This  iiiaee  may  be  a  league  in  circuit.  At  one  of  the  entrances  is  a  sort  of  island,  which  is  coverud 
wiih  wciiiil.  ])rincip,illy  pines,  which  holds  to  a  coast  of  sandy  downs  of  some  length  ;  the  other 
sliuie  is  pretty  high  land.  There  are  two  isles  iti  the  said  Hay  \vhich  are  not  perceived  until  yon 
aie  within,  which  the  sea  leaves  almost  entirely  at  low  tide.  This  place  is  very  remarkable  from 
the  se:i.  iiiasmueh  as  the  coast  is  very  low,  except  the  cape  at  the  entrance  of  the  Bay,  which  wo 
JKivc  named  I'ort  Cape  St.  Lotus,  distant  from  the  said  Q'i\[)C  two  leagues,  and  ton  from  the  Cape 
(it  Inlands.     It  is  about  the  latitude  of  Cape  St.  Lotus.'' 

In  this  tloscription  tliu  (4iinK't  and  ]\[anomot  stand  out  for  easy  recogni- 
tion. Tlio  sandy  downs  of  Diixbury  IJoacli,  tlie  shallow  li!irl)or,  the  river, 
even  the  soundings  establisli  tlio  identity  of  Poit  St.  Louis  with  Plymouth; 
ami  till'  two  islands  become  further  evidence,  if  more  were  needed. 

Ti)  aceount  for  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  inhabiting  the  Cape  when  the 
Pilgrims  were  reconnoitring  there,  it  is  only  necessary  to  cite  a  few  facts. 
Cabot  stole  three  savages  and  carried  them  to  England,  where,  says-'  Stow, 
in  liidiorous  astonishment,  after  two  years'  residence  they  could  not  be  told 
from  Kiiglishmen.  In  150H,  it  is  said,  Thomas  .\ubert,  a  jiilot  of  Dieppe,  ex- 
cited liTcat  curiosity  by  bringing  over  several  natives  to  France.  Cartier 
took  two  back  with  him  to  France,  but  with  their  own  consent:  and  Ihey 
wore  eventually,  I  believe,  restored  to  their  native  country.  Weymouth,  in 
1005,  seized  five  at  Peiuaquid ;  Harlow,  in  1011,  five  more;  and  Hunt,  the 
greatest  thief  of  them  all,  kidnaped  in  this  very  htirbor  of  Plymouth,  in  the 
year  1014,  twenty-four  of  those  silly  savages,  and  sold  them  in  Spain  for  reals 
of  eight.  After  such  treachery  it  is  not  strange  the  red  men  looked  on  these 
iiow-eoiners  as  their  natural  enemies.  It  is  more  extraordinary  that  Samoset, 
on  ei.tering  their  weak  village  some  months  after  their  lauding,  should  have 
greeted  them  Avitli  the  memorable  "  Welcome,  Englishmen  !" 

The  I'ilgrims  saw  in  the  evidences  of  prior  intereouise  with  Europeans,  that 
ti.ey  were  not  the  pioneers  in  this  wilderness  of  New  England.     They  found 


'  Followed  as  literally  as  possible,  to  preserve  the  style. 
*  Named  by  De  Monts.  and  supposed  to  be  Brant  Point. 


v'-^fes 


276 


THE  NEW   ENGLAND  COAST. 


iiMpIt'inenls  and  utensils  ofciviliwHl  inanulac-turo,  thoutfli  no  fire-arms.     These 
articles  were  probably  obtaint'd  l)y  barter  with  tlie  iisliin<^  or  trading  Hhips. 

On  William  Wood's  map  of  Ki:^,'  Old  Plyinoutli  is  laid  down  on  tin; 
eastern  siiore  of  Narraganst-t  Uay,  while  New  I'lymoutli  lias  its  proper  posi- 
tion. "New  Flimouth"  is  jdaeed  on  JMauw's  map  at  tlu;  head  of  a  small 
bay,  into  whicli  a  largo  river  tlows.  One  of  the  headlands  of  the  bay  is 
named  C.  IJlaneo  (Jallis,  and  the  bay  itself  Crane  Bay.  Josselyn  has  also 
this  reference  to  Old  I'lymouth : 

"At  the  fartlier  end  of  the  bay,  by  tlie  moutli  of  Narragaiiset  Kivtr, 
on  'he  south  side  thereof  was  Old  I'lymouth  ])lantation,  Anno  1002."  lie 
may  have  borrowed  his  itinerary  in  part  from  Wood,  who,  as  I  take  it,  re- 
ferred to  Gosnold's  attempt  at  the  mouth  of  Buzzard's  Bay.  In  his  sum- 
mary, under  date  of  1007,  Josselyn  notes,  "  Plimouth  plantation  in  New  En- 
gland attempted." 

1  spent  some  hours  among  the  grave-stones  on  Burial  Hill.  Here,  as  in 
the  streets  of  the  living  inhabitants,  the  old  familiar  names  of  the  Jfai/Jfoir- 
er's  passengers  are  to  be  met  with.  And  in  every  burial-place  in  the  hiiul, 
I  make  no  doubt,  are  to  be  found  Howlands  and  Wiir.^lows,  IJradfords  ami 
Brewsters,  side  by  side.  I  have  t\dt  myself  much  moved  in  thinking  on  the 
story  of  those  stern  men  and  self  contained,  trustful  women.  Tlieir  whole 
lives  might  justly  be  called  a  pilgrimage.  Consider  their  gathering  in  the 
Old  England  they  loved  so  well;  then  their  dis[)ersion,  suffering,  and  hiu'ried 
flight  into  Hollaiul ;  afterward  the  staking  their  all  on  the  issue  of  their  vcn- 
tui'e  in  the  New  World,  and  the  painful,  anxious  lives  they  led;  despoiling 
the  joung  of  their  youth,  and  the  elders  of  a  peaceful  old  ago. 

This  spot,  as  is  well  known,  was  not  the  I'ilgrims'  original  place  of  inter- 
ment. They  who  first  died  were  buried  on  Cole's  Hill,  nearer  the  shore,  lunl 
to  the  strait  limits  of  their  little  hamlet.  They  lost  one  half  their  niunhei' 
during  the  first  dismal  winter,  and  there  was  room  enough  without  going  far 
to  make  Jieir  graves.  Tradition  says  that,  fearing  their  wretchedness  might 
inspire  the  Indians  with  the  hope  of  exterminating  them,  those  early  graves 
were  first  leveled  and  then  planted  upon  in  order  to  conceal  their  losses.  It 
is  said  that  sixty  years  elapsed  before  a  grave-stone  with  an  inscription  was 
set  up  in  Plymouth ;  certain  it  is  that  none  older  has  been  found  than  that 
of  Ldward  Gray,  merchant,  who  died  in  1081. 

The  obliterated  grave-yard  on  Cole's  Hill,  which  was  nothing  more  than  a 
sea-blufi'  overhanging  tlie  shore,  was  flooded  by  a  freshet  about  1735,  laying 
bare  many  of  tlie  graves,  and  carrying  along  with  it  to  tiie  sea  many  of  the 
remains.  It  is  the  sup])osed  resting- j)lace  of  Carver,  the  first  governor  <it 
Plymouth,  and  of  his  wife,  who  did  not  long  survive  him.  It  contained  the 
ashes  of  fifty  of  the  one  hundred  and  two  that  hael  landed  in  I)ecend)er.    In 


'Tho  south  pnrt  of  New  England,  as  it  is  planted  this  ^eare,  1C34." 


rLYMOUTII. 


277 


Those 
;  ships. 
\  on  1  he- 
lper )iiisi- 
;■  a  Mii;ill 
no  l);iy  is 
lias  also 

u't  HiviT, 
j02."  He 
,akc  it,  ve- 
1  l\is  sum- 
1  N(;\v  Ku- 

[IcMv,  as  ill 
l'  J/" ///""'• 
n  the  livntl, 
.ilfonls  ami 
kiii<4  on  the 
["heir  whole 
•rin;4  in  the 
ami  liiivvietl 
bf 


1 

^-i"  thoiv  veil- 


)ilin«^ 


no 


ace  of  iiitev- 
shoiT,  aii'l 
,^ir  munhi'V 
ut  going  lav 
liiess  might 
arly  graves 
if  losses.    It 
ription  was 
nd  than  Unit 

more  than  a 
1T35,  laying 
many  of  the 
o-overnor  "^ 
jontaineil  tlie 
oc'-Muher.    1'" 

ll." 


the  time  of  tlic  first  winter's  sickness,  says  Hutchinson,  there  were  not  ahovo 
si'von  men  cai)al)le  of  boarini;  arms.  And  yet,  when  tliey  were  almost  too 
tow  to  bury  their  own  dead,  they  talked  of  war  with  C'lnonicus  as  if  it  were 
mere  hagatelle,  answering  detiance  with  defiance.  I  fi»ncy  those  I'ilgrims 
were  of  liie  right  stulf ! 

Oil  Uurial  Hill  is  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Governor  Bradford,  who 
succeeded  Carver,  and  was  annually  chosen  from  1621  until  liis  death,  in  1057 
—except  during  the  years  10;J.'5,  10:30,  1038,  and  1044,  when  Edward  Winslow, 
and  ill  10:54,  when  Thomas  Prence,  administered  the  colony  afiairs.  In  sev- 
enty years  there  were  onlv  six  dilferent  persons  governors  of  Plymouth, 
lioger  Whi'e,  the  friend  of  Bradford,  writes  liiiii  a  letter  from  Leyden,  Decem- 
ber, 1025,  counseling  rotation  in  otliee,  more  than  hinting  that  the  constant 
vc-election  of  himself  to  the  chief  office  in  tlie  colony  tended  to  an  oligarchy." 
Jhaiil'ord  was  among  the  earliest  to  go  into  Holland  for  conscience'  sake.  He 
was  of  good  estate,  and  ]ia<l  learned  the  art  of  silk-dyeing  in  Amsterdam. 
His  residence  in  the  New  AVorld  began  in  affiiction,  for,  before  a  site  for  set- 
tlc'UK'iit  had  been  fixed  upon,  hi>  wife,  D  'rotliy  May,  fell  from  the  vessel  into 
the  sea  and  was  drowned.  His  monument  was  erected,  some  years  ago,  by 
descendants. 

In  a  conspicuous  position  is  the  monument  ?'aiso(l,  in  1858,  by  the  descend- 
ants of  Uobert  Cushmaii,  and  of  Thomas  C'ushman,  his  son,  for  i'orty-three 
years  ruling  elder  of  the  church  of  the  Pilgrims.  Of  all  the  original  memo- 
rial tablets  in  this  old  cemetery,  those  of  Thomas  Cushman,  wlio  came  in  1021, 
in  the  Fortune,  and  of  Thomas  Clark,  a  passenger  by^  the  A^in,  in  1023,  alone 
were  remaining.  The  grave  of  John  Ilowland,  an  emigrant  of  the  Maijjiomir, 
has  been  identified,  and  fiiriiisbed  with  a  handsome  liead-slono.  In  some  in- 
stances boards  bearing  siinj)ly  the  name  and  age  of  the  deceased  have  re- 
piuoc'd  the  aged  and  no  longer  legible  sioues,  as  in  the  cases  of  Elder  Thomas 
FauiKH',  William  Crowe,  and  others.  The  stone  of  Thomas  Clark  was  the 
most  curious  I  saw,  and  in  general  the  inscriptions  do  not  possess  other  in- 
tere.l  than  the  recollections  they  summon  up.  The  grave  of  Dr.  Adoniram 
Jiulsoii  is  also  here. 

Ijiirial  Hill  is  also  memorable  as  tlie  site  of  the  second'  regular  church  ed- 
ifice in  New  England,  built  to  serve  the  double  purpose  of  church  and  citadel. 
Fnnn  this  cause  tlio  eminence  was  long  called  Fort  Hill.  By  February,  1021, 
after  the  defiance  of  Caiionicus,  the  town  was  inclosed  within  a  palisade,  tak- 
ing ill  the  top  of  the  liill  under  which  it  was  situated.  In  1022  the  colonists 
hiiilt  their  church-fortress;  it  should  have  been  dedicated  with  Luther's  an- 
tlioni : 


'  "(.'iiUections  of  the  Mussncliusetts  Historical  Society." 

'  See  rophiun's  settlement  on  tlie  Kennebec ;  the  Epibuopal  service  was  doubtless  tlie  first 
religious  exercise  in  New  Enginnd. 


t*i'aiiA.^.U'*^.,V:..' 


'Wfifir^  'fsssff ,.r^T^>z^ 


278  THE  NEW  ENliLAND  COAST. 

"God  is  ft  oiistlo  nml  defense, 

Wlifii  tnmtilcs  and  distress  invade, 
He'll  lii'ip  iuid  iVi'e  us  tVoin  (illense, 
And  ever  shield  us  with  iiis  aid." 

Ever  willing  to  turn  an  liont'st  pciniy,  ilie  Dtilcli,  in  1027,  oponcil  a  corrc- 
si)oii(k'ncc  beLwc'L'ii  Fort  Ainstcrdani  and  Plyinoiilli,  with  otl'rfs  of  tr;i<lc. 
Tlioy  followL'il  it  with  iin  cini)!it>sy  in  the  person  of  Isaac  de  Kasieres,  wiui, 
says  Bradford,  was  tiieir  chief  merchant,  and  second  to  their  governor.  He 
came  into  I'lyinotith  "honorably  attended  witli  a  noise  of  trumpeters."  It 
is  in  a  letter  oi'  De  Hasieres,  found  tit  The  Ilagiio  by  Mr.  Hrodhead,  tiiat  we 
obtain  a  circumstantial  account  of  town  and  fortress  as  they  then  existed. 

"  Tixiii  the  hill,"  he  writes,  "they  have  a  large,  s(|uare  house,  with  .-i  tlat 
roof,  made  of  thick  sawn  planks,  stayed  with  oak  beams,  ujjon  the  top  of 
which  they  have  si.v  cannons,  which  shoot  iron  balls  of  four  and  five  ])oiiinls, 
and  command  the  surrounding  country.  Tlie  lower  part  they  use  for  tlioii' 
church,  where  they  preach  on  Sundays  and  the  usual  holidays."' 

A  looker-on  here  in  1807  found  in  this  burvinu.-i'round  and  on  the  suuiMiit 
of  the  hill  the  remains  of  the  ditch  that  surroundi'd  the  ancient  fortificatidii 
erected  in  107"),  on  the  approach  of  I'liilip's  war.  This  was  a  work  of  great- 
er magnitude  than  thai  of  tiu;  lirst  adventurers,  inclosing  a  space  one  liuiidRd 
feet  s(piaro,  strongly  palisaded  with  pickets  ten  and  a  half  feet  high,  ^\s  laic 
as  1844  the  whole  circuit  of  this  work  was  distinctly  visible. '^  The  head  dl' 
Wittuwamet,  one  of  the  (diiefs  killed  by  Standish's  party  at  Weymoulli  in 
102;3,  was  set  up  on  the  battlements  of  the  fort,  as  was  afterward  that  of  llic 
renowned  King  Philij).  The  vaunting,  the  exasperating  mockery  of  a  savage, 
is  ill  these  lines  : 

'"Who  is  there  liere  to  fi^ht  with  tiie  hrave  Wattawarnat  ?' 
Then  he  unsheathed  liis  knife,  and,  wlietting  the  hlade  on  liis  left  hand, 
Held  it  aloft  and  displayed  a  woman's  face  on  the  liandle, 
Saying,  with  hitter  expression  and  look  of  si;''cr  nieaiiinfr, 
'I  have  another  at  home,  with  the  faie  of  a  man  on  thii  handle; 
By-and-hy  they  shall  marry;  and  llicrc  will  ho  jilcnty  of  children.'" 

According  to  Edward  Winslow,  the  English  stood  to  their  guns  wlieii 
Indiivns  came  among  them.  To  allay  distrtist  in  the  minds  of  the  sav;"ics, 
they  were  told  it  was  an  act  of  courtesy  observed  by  the  English,  bnth  on 


'  Ca)itain  .Tohn  Smith,  speiikinij;  of  the  town  in  1024.  says  of  this  fortress,  tliere  was  "witliin  a 
iiif^h  mount  a  I'ort,  with  a  watch-tower,  well  huilt  of  stone,  loine,  and  wood,  their  onhiauco  "cll 
mounted." 

'^  Durinj;  some  excavations  made  on  the  Inll,  remains  of  the  watch-tower  of  hrick  cmuh-  to 
light,  indicating  its  position  to  have  been  in  the  vicinity  of  the  .Tudson  mommient.  Tht'ii'  ;iNo 
existed  on  the  hill,  until  ahont  18(!(),  a  powder-house  of  anli(pie  fashion,  huilt  in  1770.  It  iu'l  ;iii 
oval  slab  of  sl;'te  iml)edded  in  the  wall,  with  a  Latin  inscriptiiin  ;  and  there  were  also  cngiMvcil 
upon  it  a  powder-horn,  cartridge,  and  a  caTinon. — "  I'ilgrim  Memorial." 


I'LYiMOUTil. 


•J7!> 


land  ami  sea.  Tiio  sciitiiicl  who  jiaccd  his  iDiiidy  rouml  licro  in  lO-J  should 
have  had  steady  iiervos.  'I'he  nearest  outpost  w  as  his  leUow-wiUeiier  on  tlie 
ramparts  of  Fort  Amstcnhun.  IFe  eoiilil  liardly  ])ass  the  word  on  ''All's 
well  I"  to  Jamestown  or  Saint  AuL;ustine,  or  heai-  the  challeniie  iVoin  I'ort 
Hoyal,  in  Aeadia.  IJehind  him  was  the  wilderness,  out  ol"  whii-h  it  was  a 
Wonder  the  Indians  did  not  burst,  it  was  so  easy  to  overwiielm  the  devoted 
little  hand  of  Englishmen  and  brush  them  away  into  the  sea.  I  make  nn  ac- 
coiuil  of  the  few  seatti-red  eabins  alonjj^  the  noithern  eoast,  and  the  Pilgrims 
made  no  account  oi'  them.  Thus  they  lived  for  ti'U  years  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  an  intrenched  camp,  a  picket  lodged  witliin  an  enemy's  C(juntry,  un- 
til the  settlement  in  ^lassachusetts  Bay  enabled  them  to  draw  breath.     Why 


miu' 


lit  they  not  sav  to  those  after-comers. 


Wc  arc  tlio  Jasons;  wo  liave  won  tlic  fleece?" 


The  j)rocession  of  the  Pilgrims  to  their  church  was  i  siglit  tliat  must  have 
exceedingly  stirred  the  sluggish  blood  of  the  Dutch  emissary,  lie  iound 
tlii'in  attentive  to  prolfers  of  trade;  acute,  as  might  be  expected  of  the  first 
Yankees,  where  j»rolits  wore  in  (juestion;  but  there  was  no  doubt  about  the 
(jualily  of  their  piety.  At  the  hour  of  worship  tlie  silent  village  was  assembled 
1)V  drum-beat,  as  was  biditting  in  the  Church  Militant.  At  this  signal  the 
lioui<e-doors  open  and  give  passage  to  each  I'amily.  The  men  wear  their  sad- 
colured  mantles,  and  are  armed  to  the  teeth,  as  if  going  to  battle.  Silently 
they  take  their  ))laees  in  front  of  the  ca{)tain's  <U)or,  three  a\)reast,  with  match- 
locks shouldered.  The  tall,  steru-visaged  ones,  we  may  suppose,  lead  the  I'cst. 
Ill  iVont  is  the  sergeant.  JJehind  the  armed  men  comes  Hradfortl,  in  a  long 
rohe.  At  his  right  hand  is  Elder  Urewster,  with  his  cloak  on.  At  the  gov- 
ernor's left  marches  IMiles  Stiindish,  his  rapier  lifting  xip  the  corner  of  his 
mantle,  and  carrying  a  small  cane  in  his  hanil.  The  women  in  sober  gowns, 
kerchiefs,  and  hoods,  their  garments  poor,  but  scrui)ulously  neat,  follow  next ; 
the  lowlier  yielding  precedence  to  those  of  better  condition.  At  command, 
they  take  their  way  up  the  hill  in  this  order,  and,  entering  within  the  rude 
temple  they  have  raised,  each  man  sets  down  his  musket  where  he  may  lay 
hand  upon  it.  "Thus,"  says  Do  Kiisieres,  "  they  are  on  their  guard  night 
ami  <hiy." 

Th.MPas  Lechford,  "of  Clement's  Tnn,  Cent,"  in  his  "Plain  Dealing,"  says 
he  once  looked  in  the  church-door  in  Boston  where  the  sacrament  was  Leiiig 
!i(l:ninistered.  lie  thus  noted  down  what  he  saw:  '"They  come  together 
n.hotit  nine  o'clock  by  ringing  of  a  bell.  I'astor  prayed  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour.  The  teacher  then  I'eadeth  and  expoundetli  a  cha))ter;  then  a  ])salm  is 
sung,  which  one  of  the  ruling  Elders  dictates.  Afterward  the  pastor  preaches 
a  sermon,  or  exhorts  ex  tempore.'''' 

This  is  the  way  in  which  they  made  contributions:  "On  Sundays,  in  the 
afternoon,  when  the  sermon  is  ended,  the  people  in  the  galleries  come  down 


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280 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


and  mardi  two  abreast  up  one  aisle  and  down  tlie  oilier,  until  they  come  lie- 
fore  the  desk,  for  ])uli)it  they  have  none.  Before  the  desk  is  a  long  pue  wiicro 
the  elders  and  deacons  sit,  one  of  them  with  a  money-box  in  his  hand,  into 
which  the  peojjle,  as  they  miss,  put  their  oftering,  some  a  shill,  some  2s,,  some 
half  a  crown,  live  s.,  according  to  their  ability.  Then  they  conclude  with  a 
prayer." 

Lechford  adds  that  the  eongregati^n  used  to  pass  up  by  the  deacon's  scat, 
giving  either  money,  or  valuable  articks,  or  paper  promises  to  pay,  and  so  to 
their  seats  again,  the  chief  nien  or  magistrates  first.  The  same  r.uthor  de- 
scribes the  method  of  excommunication  practiced  in  some  of  the  New  En- 
gland churches.  "At  New  Ihiwn,  alias  Quinaiieng,"  he  says,  "  where  Master 
Davenport  is  pastor,  the  excommunicate  is  held  out  of  the  meeting,  at  the 
doore,  if  he  will  heare,  in  frost,  snow,  and  raine." 

The  Pilgrims  are  often  called  Puritans,  a  term  of  reproach  first  applied  to 
the  whole  body  of  Dissenters,  but  in  their  day  belonging  strictly  to  those  who 
renounced  the  forms  and  ceremonies  while  believing  in  the  doctrines  and  sac- 
raments of  the  Ciiurch  of  England.  ]>oston  was  settled  by  Puritans,  who,  ac- 
cording to  Governor  Winthrop,  adhered  to  the  mother-church  when  they  left 
Old  England.  It  is  curious  to  observe  that  tiie  Boston  Puritans  became  rig- 
id S'  -laratists,  while  the  Plymouth  Separatists  became  more  and  more  niod- 
ei;ate.  The  Pilgrims  were  originally  of  the  sect  called  Brownists,  from  liob- 
ert  Brown,  a  seliool-master  in  South wark  about  J  580,  and  a  relation  of  C'ocil, 
Lord  Burghley.'  Cardinal  Bentivoglio  erroneously  calls  the  Holland  refu- 
gees a  distinct  sect  by  the  name  of  Puritans.  Hutchinson,  usually  well  in- 
formed, observes,  "If  all  in  England  who  called. themselves  Brownists  and  hi- 
dependents  at  that  day  had  come  over  with  them  (the  Pilgrims),  they  wotiKl 
scarcely  have  made  one  considerable  town."  Yet  in  1592  there  were  said  to 
be  twenty  thousand  Independents  in  England. 

The  Church  of  the  Pilgrims,  formed,  in  1G02,  of  people  living  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Nottinghamshire,  Lincolnshire,  and  Yorkshire,  made  their  way,  after 
innumerable  difficulties,  into  Holland.  Their  pastor,  John  Robinson,  is  usu- 
ally regarded  as  the  author  of  Independency.  A  residence  on  the  soeiio  of 
the  Ileformation  softened,  in  many  respects,  the  inflexible  religious  character 
of  the  Brownists.  They  discarded  the  name  rendered  odious  on  many  ac- 
counts.  It  is  stated,  on  the  autliority  of  Edward  Winslow,  that  Robinson  and 
his  Church  did  not  require  renunciation  of  the  Church  of  England,  acknowl- 
edging the  other  reformed  churches,  and  allowing  occasional  communion  with 


'  Robert  Brown,  tlie  founder  of  the  sect,  ufter  thirty-two  iinprisonmeuts,  eventnnlly  cmifoiincd. 
Henry  Penny,  Henry  Burrow,  imd  other  Brownists,  were  crnelly  executed  for  aile/ijed  sedition,  Aiiiv 
2!)tli,  ir»lt;5.  lClii!ai)etb's  celel)r)Ueil  Act  of  ir>!),'(  visited  a  refiisnl  to  nmko  n  (lei'liinuion  of  coiifonn- 
ity  with  the  Church  of  England  witii  bauisinnent  and  forfeiture  of  citizeusiiip ;  death  if  the  olilMKlur 
returned  into  tlie  realm. 


rLYMOUTII. 


281 


tliom.  It  is  also  eviilent  from  Avliat  Bratllbrd  says  tliat  the  Pilgrims  chose 
the  Ilngncnots  as  their  molels  in  Church  affairs.' 

Both  in  regard  to  civil  and  ecclesiastical  affairs  the  Pilgrims  were  placed 
in  a  situation  of  serious  difficulty.  The  King  of  England  promised  not  to  in- 
terfere with  them  in  religious  matters,  but  would  not  acknowledge  them  by 
any  public  a-  t  under  his  hand  and  seal.  Some  of  the  most  influential  of  the 
company  of  English  merchants,  by  whom  they  were  transported  to  New  En- 
gland, did  not  sympathi/e  with  them  in  their  religious  views,  and  at  length 
broke  off  from  them,  and  left  them  to  struggle  on  alone  as  be>it  they  might. 
This  is  apparent  in  the  plan  to  prevent  the  remnant  of  the  Church  of  Leyden 
from  coming  over.  It  is  also  clear  that  neither  the  motives  nor  the  intentions 
of  the  Pilgrims  were  well  understood  by  the  adventurers  at  the  outset,  and 
that  as  soon  as  these  were  fully  developed,  the  nierchants,  or  a  majority  of 
them,  preferred  to  augment  their  colony  with  a  more  pliant  and  less  obnox- 
ious class  of  emigrants  than  the  flrst-comers  had  proved.  In  examining  the 
charges  and  complaints  of  the  one,  and  the  explanations  of  the  other,  it  is 
difficult  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  a  good  deal  of  duplicity  was  used  by 
tho  I'ilgrims  to  keep  the  breath  of  life  in  their  infant  plantation. 

ll  appears  that  the  settlers  in  ^Massachusetts  JJay  were  not  ac(piainted  with 
the  I'orm  of  worship  practiced  by  the  Pilgrims,  as  Endicott  writes  to  Governor 
Hradllird  from  "  Naumkeak,  ]May  IJth,  1G29:  I  acknowledge  myself  much 
bound  to  you  for  your  kind  love  and  care  in  sending  ]\Ir.  Puller  among  us, 
and  rejoice  much  that  I  am  by  him  satisfied  touching  your  judgments  of  the 
outward  form  of  God's  worship;  it  is  (as  tar  as  I  can  yet  gather)  no  other 
than  is  warranted  by  the  evidence  of  truth,  and  the  same  which  I  have  pro- 
fcsa>d  and  maintained  ever  since  the  Lord  in  his  mercy  revealed  himself  unto 
ine,  being  far  diffei'ing  from  the  common  reports  that  hath  been  spread  of 
you  touching  that  particular."- 

I  have  thought  it  worth  mentioning  that  the  church  at  Salem  Avas  the 
first  completely  organized  Congregational  church  in  America.  It  was  gath- 
ered August  6th,  1029,  when  l{ev.  Mv.  Iliggiuson  was  ordained  teacher,  and 
Mr.  Skcllon  pastor."  (Governor  liradford  and  others  deputed  from  the  churcli 
at  Plyniouth,  coming  into  the  assembly  in  the  hour  of  the  solemnity,  gave 
them  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  Pobinson  never  having  come  over,  Plym- 
outh Mas  without  a  pastor  for  some  years. 


'  Sir  Mrttfliow  lliile  used  to  Fiiy,  "Those  of  the  Soi)iii'atioii  were  good  men,  hut  they  had  nar- 
row sdiils,  or  thoy  wouUl  not  break  the  jjeaee  of  the  Chiueh  al)0ut  siicli  inconsiderable  niatteis  as 
tlie  points  of  ditlerence  were."'  In  tliis  country  tiic  Independents  took  the  name  of  Congregation- 
«lists.  Tliey  held,  among  other  things,  tliat  one  church  n>  ly  advise  or  reprove  another,  hut  had 
no  jiowcrto  exconnnnnicatc.  The  clun'ches  outside  of  I'lymouth  did,  however,  practice  excommu- 
nicatiiiii. 

'  (iovcrnor  Bradford's  Letter-book. 

'  Tho  teacher  explained  doctrines ;  the  pastor  enforced  them  by  suitable  exhortations. 


282 


Till-:   NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


UikUm-  Cliarlc'S  I.  llie  Pilgrims  fared  little  better  than  in  the  preceding  reign; 
but  they  had  seated  themselves  lirnily  by  the  period  of  the  Civil  War.  On 
the  day  before  his  arrival  Jit  Shrewsbury,  the  king  eaiiscd  the  military  orders 
to  be  read  at  the  liead  of  eaeli  regiment.  Then,  mounting  his  horse,  and 
))lacing  himself  in  the  midst,  where  all  might  iiear,  he  made  a  speech  to  his 
soldiers,  in  which  this  passage  occurs  : 

"Gentlemen,  you  liave  heard  *liese  orders  read;  it  is  your  part,  in  your 

severall  places,  to  observe  them  exactly 1  can  not  suspect  your  Courage 

and  IJesolution ;  your  Conscience  and  your  Loyalty  hath  brouglit  you  hither 
to  light  for  your  Religion,  your  King,  and  the  Laws  of  the  Land ;  you  shall 
fight  with  no  Enemies,  but  Ti-aitoiirs,  most  of  tliem  IJrownists,  Anabaptists, 
and  Atheists,  such  who  desire  to  destroy  both  Church  and  State,  and  who 
have  already  condemned  you  to  ruin  for  being  Loyall  to  vs." 

Here,  then,  were  a  handful  of  men  repiuliated  by  their  king,  cast  off  by  their 
commercial  partners,  a  ])rey  to  the  consecpiences  of  civil  war  at  home,  and  liv- 
ing by  sufferance  in  the  midst  of  a  tierce  and  warlike  ])eoi)le,  compelled  at  last 
to  work  out  tlieir  own  political  destiny.  What  wonder  that  witli  them  self- 
preservation  stood  first,  last,  and  always!  .Vll  other  settlements  in  Xew  Kn- 
giand  were  made  with  the  hojie  of  gain  alone,  few,  if  any,  colonists  nieaniiiif 
to  make  a  j)ermanent  home  in  its  wilds.  We  may  not  withhold  the  resiicct 
due  to  these  Pilgrims,  Avho  were  essentially  a  unit,  embodying  tlie  germ  of 
civil,  political,  and  religious  liljerty.  They  beheld  from  the  beacli  the  vanish- 
ing sail  of  the  Manfiurer  as  men  who  had  accepted  what  fate  may  bring  to 
them.     They  did  not  mean  to  go  back. 


TUli   I'lUiUI.Ms'    I'lliST    ENOOl'NTEU. 


CIIAITKR  XVIII. 


PLYMOUTH,  I'LAKK  S    ISLAXn,  AND    Dl'XBURY. 

"Ay,  call  it  holy  gvouuil. 

The  soil  where  first  they  trod  I 
They  hiive  left  unstaiiiM  what  tliere  they  found — 
Frceduin  to  worship  (iodi"— Mi;s.  Humans. 

T  KT  us  now  lake  a  walk  in  Lcydeii  Street.  Until  1802  the  principal  street 
^^  ol'  tlio  Piloriins  was  without  a  name;  it  was  then  jiroposed  to  give  it 
the  one  it  now  so  appropriately  bears.  In  my  deseent  of  the  liill  into  the 
town  sijiiare,  I  passed  under  the  sliade  of  some  nitiLCnitieent  elms  just  putting 
iortli  their  spring  buds.  Some  of  those  natural  enemies  of  trees  were  talking 
of  ('titling  down  the  noblest  of  them  all,  that  has  stood  for  nearly  a  hundred 
years,  and  long  shaded  (Governor  Uradford's  house.' 

<.'tnisu1ting  again   our  old  guide,  De  Kasieres,  I  find  he  tells  us,  "New 
PlyniDiith  lies  on  the  slopv    of  a  hill  stretehing  east,  toward  the  sea-coast, 


Tiiese  trees  are  said  to  have  heeti  jilantcd  in  17S;},  hy  Tliomas  Davis. 


284 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


BUILDING   ON    THE   bITE   OF  I3UAI)r<.)lU)  S   MANSION. 


witli  a  broad  street  about  a  caniion-sliot  of  eiglit  hundred  [j'ards]  long  Uad- 
ing  down  the  liill ;  willi  a  street  crossuig  in  the  middle  northward  to  the  riv- 
ulet and  southward 
to  tlie  land.  The 
houses  are  con- 
structed of  hewn 
])I:inks,  witli  gar- 
dens, also  inclosed 
behind  r.nd  at  tlie 
sides  Avitli  hewn 
])lanks ;  so  that 
their  houses  and 
court-yards  are  ar- 
ranged in  very 
good  order,  with  a 
stockade  against  a 
sudden  attack;  and 
at  the  ends  of  the 
streets  there  are 
three  wooden  gates. 

In  the  centre,  on  the  eross-street,  stands  the  governor's  house,  before  which 
is  a  square  inelosure,  upon  wi)ich  ibur  p.xteros  [steenstucken]  are  mounted,  so 
as  to  flank  along  the  streets."  AVc  are  standing,  then,  in  the  ancient  place  of 
arms  of  the  Pilgrims. 

Nearest  to  us,  on  the  north  side  of  tiie  square,  is  the  site  of  Governor  IJiad- 
lord's  house,  Avitli  the  Church  of  the  Pilgrimage  just  bej^ond.  The  dwelling 
of  the  governor  was  long  ago  removed  to  the  north  )>art  of  tl..?  town,  and 
this,  its  successor,  does  not  fulfill  our  want,  as  the  veritable  h.abitation  of  the 
much-honored  magistrate  would  do.  Nearly  opposite  is  the  old  county  conrt- 
liorise,  erected  in  1749.  Up  at  the  head  of  this  inclosed  space,  >,  ;.ich  long 
custom  miscalls  a  square,  is  the  First  Church,  its  pinnacles  appearing  diiniy 
through  the  interweaving  branches  of  tall  elms.  Tiiere  is  a  coolness  as  well 
as  a  repose  about  the  spot  that  makes  us  loiter. 

After  the  tragic  death  of  his  first  wil'o,  liradford  betliought  him  of  IMrs. 
Southworth,  whom  he  had  known  and  wooed  in  .dd  England  as  Alice  Carpen- 
ter. She  was  now  a  widow.  He  renewed  his  suit,  and  she  hearkened  to  him. 
But  as  the  governor  could  not  leave  Ids  magistracy,  the  lady,  ceding  I'^'r 
woman's  rights,  took  ship,  and  came  to  Plymouth  in  August,  1G23.  In  a 
fortnight  they  were  married. 

Bradford  tells  how  the  passengers  of  the  sliip  yl»??,  of  whom  ^Mistress 
Southworth  was  one,  were  aftected  by  what  they  saw  wdien  they  first  f*t't 
foot  in  Plymouth.  They  were  met  by  a  band  of  haggard  men  and  women, 
meanly  appareled,  and  in  some  cases  little  better  than  half-naked.     The  best 


PLYMOUTH,  CLARK'S   ISLAND,  AND  DUXBUIIY. 


285 


dish  tlicy  could  sot  before  tlieir  iVieiids  was  a  lobster  or  piece  offish,  witliout 
otlur  drink  thiin  a  cui)  of  water.  Some  of  the  newly  arrived  fell  weej»iii<^ ; 
others  wished  themselves  in  England  again,  while  even  the  joy  of  meeting 
friends  from  whoni  they  liad  long  been  separated  could  not  dispel  the  sad- 
ness (if  others  in  beholding  their  miserable  condition.  The  governor  has  not 
told  lis  of  the  coming  of  Alice  Southworth,  but  says  simply  there  were  "some 
very  useful  persons"  on  board  the  ship  ylntt. 

Here  the  governor  entertained  Pere  (Jabriel  Drenillettes,  in  1G50,  with  a 
fish  (iimier,  because,  says  the  good  old  Jesuit,  it  was  a  Friday.  The  govern- 
or was  equal  to  the  courtesy;  yet,  I  fancy,  fish  dinners  were  often  eaten  in 
Plymouth. 

liiadford's  second  wife  survived  him  thirteen  years.  With  her  came  his 
brother-in-law,  George  ^Morton,  her  sister,  JJridget  Fidler,'  and  two  daughters 
of  Elder  Brewster.  She  lived  thirty  years  with  her  second  husband,  and, 
from  the  tribute  of  Nathaniel  Morton,''  must  have  been  a  woman  of  an  exem- 
plary and  beautiful  character.  Iler  sister,  Mary  Carpenter,  lived  to  be  nine- 
ty years  old.  She  is  referred  to  in  the  church  records  of  Plymouth  as  "  a 
godly  old  maid,  never  married." 

Apropos  of  the  governor's  wedding,  I  extract  this  notice  of  the  first  mar- 
riage in  the  colony  fro'n  his  history:  "May  12th,  ]621,  was  y*^  first  marriage 
ill  this  place,  which,  according  to  y"^  laudable  custome  of  y'^  Low  Countries, 
was  tlinught  most  requisite  to  be  performed  by  the  magistrate,  as  being  a 
civil!  thing,  upon  which  many  questions  aboute  inheritance  doe  depende,"  etc. 

When  Edward  Winslow  was  in  England  as  agent  of  the  colony,  and  was 
interrogated  at  the  instance  of  Laud,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  \)efore  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Plantations,  he  was,  among  other  things,  ques- 
tioned upon  this  practice  of  marriage  by  magistrates.  lie  answered  boldly 
that  he  found  nothing  in  Scrijjtnre  to  restrict  marriage  to  the  clergy,  lie 
also  alleged  that  the  plantation  had  long  been  without  a  minister,  and  finish- 
ed liy  citing,  as  a  precedent,  his  own  marriage  by  a  magistrate  at  the  tStaat- 
hoMs  ill  Holland.  jMorton,  who  appeared  as  an  accuser  of  Winslow,  says, 
"Tlie  people  of  New  England  held  the  nse  of  a  ring  in  marriage  to  be  a  re- 
lique  of  popery,  a  diabolical  circle  for  the  Devell  to  daunce  in." 

As  soon  as  they  had  definitely  settled  upon  a  location,  the  colonists  went 
to  work  building  their  town.  They  began  to  prepare  timber  as  early  as  the 
23d  of  December,  but  the  inclemency  of  the  season  and  the  distance  every 
tliipg  was  to  be  transported — there  were  no  trees  standing  within  an  eighth 
of  a  mile  of  the  present  Leyden  Street — made  the  work  painfully  laborious 
and  the  progress  slow.     On  the  twenty-eighth  day  the  company  was  consoli- 


'  Will'  of  Samuel  Fuller.     Slio  gave  the  church  the  lot  of  ground  on  which  the  parsonage 
stood.— .4 //en. 

'  See  A])penclix  to  Bradford's  History. 


286 


THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


tluted  into  nineteen  families,  the  siii<j;le  Juen  joinino;  sonic  liouseliold  in  order  to 
lessen  the  number  of  houses  to  be  built.  They  then  st:vketl  out  the  groinid, 
givinj;  every  ])erson  lialf  a  i)ole  in  breadth  jind  three  in  length.  Kaeh  head  of 
a  fanuly  ehose  his  homestead  by  lot,  and  each  man  was  required  to  build  liis 
own  house,  l>y  Tuesday,  the  Olh  of  Januar\,  the  Common  House  wanted 
nothint^  but  the  thateh  to  be  complete;  still,  although  it  was  only  twenty 
feet  s(juare,  the  weather  was  so  inelement  that  it  took  four  days  to  cover  it. 
They  could  seldom  work  half  the  week. 

Captain  Smith  says,  in  1(524,  the  town  consisted  of  two-and-thirty  houses 
and  about  a  hundred  and  eighty  people.     The  Common  House  is  be'lieved  to 

have  stood  on  the  south  side 
of  Leyden  Street,  where  tiie 
abrupt  descent  of  the  hill  bo- 
gins.  In  digging  a  cellar  on 
the  spot,  in  1801,  sundry  tools 
and  a  plate  of  iron  were  dis- 
covered, seven  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  Tlrs 
house  is  supposed  to  havt' 
served  the  colonists  for  every 
])urpose  of  a  public  nature  un- 
til the  building  of  their  for- 
tress on  Hurial  Hill.  l\h)uit 
calls  it  their  rendezvous,  and 
relates  that  a  few  days  after  completion  it  took  fire  from  a  s])ark  in  tlie 
thatch.  At  the  time  of  the  accident  Governor  Carver  and  William  Bradf'(ir<l 
were  lying  sick  within,  with  their  muskets  charged,  and  the  thatch  blazing 
above  them,  to  their  very  great  danger.  In  this  Common  House  the  working 
parties  slept  until  their  dwellings  were  made  ready. 

It  was  worth  living  two  liundred  years  ago  to  liave  vitnessed  one  street 
scene  that  took  place  here.  John  Oldham,  the  coutentious,  the  incorrigible, 
dared  to  return  to  Plymouth  after  banishment.  He  had,  with  Lyford,  trieil 
to  breed  a  revolt  among  the  disaffected  of  the  colony.  A  rough  and  tough 
malignant  was  Oldham,  fiercely  denouncing  the  magistrates  to  their  teeth 
when  called  to  answer  for  his  misdeeds.  lie  defied  them  roundly  in  their 
grave  assembly.     Turning  to  the  by-standers,  he  exclaimed  : 

"My  maisters  whar  is  your  harts?  now  show  your  courage,  you  have  oft 
complained  to  nie  so  and  so;  now  is  y''  tyme  if  you  will  doe  any  thing,  I  will 
stand  by  you." 

lie  returned  more  choleric  than  before,  calling  those  he  met  rebels  and 
traitors,  in  his  mad  fury.  They  put  liim  under  guard  until  his  wrath  had 
time  to  cool,  and  set  their  invention  to  work.  He  was  compelled  to  pass 
through  a  double  file  of  musketeers,  every  one  of  whom  "  was  ordered  to  give 


SITE   OF   TUE   COMMON    UOLSE. 


PLYMOUTIL  CLAKKS    ISLAND,  AND  DUXHUUY. 


287 


liim  a  tlinnij)  on  y''  bricli,  witli  y''  but  ciul  of  liis  musket,"  :uitl  was  llion  coii- 
vcvctl  to  the  water-side,  whore  .1  boat  was  in  readiness  to  carry  him  awaj-. 
They  then  bid  him  go  and  mend  liis  manners.  Tlie  idea  of  tiie  gantlet  was, 
I  suspect,  borrowed  from  the;  Indians. 

'i'liis  little  colony  of  |>ili:;rims  was  at  first  a  patriarchal  community.  Every 
tiling-  was  in  common.  Each  year  an  acre  of  land  was  allotted  to  every  inhab- 
it;uil.  10  cultivate.  The  complete  failui'e  of  the  experiment  ought  to  stand 
for  a  ])recedent,  though  it  seems  somehow  to  have  been  forgotten.  Men,  they 
found,  would  not  work  for  the  common  interest  as  for  themselves,  and  so  the 
itloa  of  a  community  of  dependents  was  abandoned  for  an  association  of  inde- 
peiuli'ut  factors.  From  this  time  they  began  to  get  on.  The  rent-day  did 
iiol  trouble  them.  "We  are  all  ireeholders,"  writes  Edwai'd  Hilton  home  to 
England.  In  1020  the  ])lanters  bought  themselves  free  of  the  undertakers, 
Avlio  oppressed  them  with  luinous  charges  ior  every  thing  furnished  the  col- 
ony. Allerton,  who  was  sent  over  in  102o  to  beg  the  loan  of  one  hundred 
pounds  sterling,  was  obliged  to  ])ay  thirty  jiounds  in  the  hundred  interest  for 
the  two  hundred  pounds  he  had  obtained.  In  the  year  1027  they  divided  all 
tlioir  stock  into  shares,  giving  each  person,  or  share,  twenty  acres  of  land, 
busiilos  the  single  acre  already  allotted. 

It  is  time  to  res'-  our  walk  down  Leyuen  Street.  On  reaching  the 
bluff  before  mentioned  . 


•street  divides,  one  branch  descending  the  decliv- 
ity toward  the  water,  wn  'e  the  other  skirts  the  hill-side.     The  Universalist 
Cliunli  at  the  corner  marks  the  site  of  the  Allyne  House,  an  ancient  dwell- 
ing   demolish- 
ed about  1820.  '■""■" 
By  the  Plym- 
outh records,  it 
appears     that, 
in    IGOO,    Mr. 
•Toseph  Allyne 
niiu'ricd    Mary 
Doteii,  daugli- 
tor  of  Edward, 
ami       jjraud- 
(laughter       of 
that     Edward 
iJotcn  who  had 
come     in     the 

Among  the 
children  of  Jo- 
f^oph  Allyne 
born  in  the  old  the  allyne  nou8B. 


(•OSSmo-BARRlIT 


288 


THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


lioniosto.a^l  was  IMary,  wlio  bt'catno  tlio  motlior  of  that  "name  of  fire,"  .Tamos 
Otis.  Tlio  liousu  comiiiandc"!  a  fiiif  viow  of  tlio  bav,  its  foundations  Ixiu'r 
liijflu'r  than  the  fhinniuys  in  the  Ktroots  below.  It  may  not,  perhaps,  bo  gen- 
erally known  that  James  Otis,  after  eompletini^  liis  studies  in  the  ofKee  (if 
Jeremiah  (iridley,  then  the  most  eminent  lawyer  in  the  province,  came  I'nmi 
IJoston  to  riymouth,  where  he  took  an  ofliee  in  the  main  street.  He  piaetiiitl 
there  during  the  years  l748-'49,  when  his  talents  called  him  to  a  broader  tidd. 
Mercy,  the  sister  of  James  Otis,  married  James  Warren,  a  native  of  Plym. 
outh.  lie  succeeded  (iieneral  Josejih  Warren  as  president  of  the  Proviiici.il 
Co'igress  of  Massachusetts,  but  is  better  known  as  the  author  of  the  ci'lc- 
brated  "Committee  of  Corres[)ondence,"  which  lie  proposed  to  Samuel  Adams 
while  the  latter  was  at  his  house.  Mrs.  AVan-en,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  was 
visited  by  the  Duke  De  Liancourt.  "  She  then  retained,"  he  says,  "  the  activ- 
ity of  mind  which  distinguished  her  as  a  sister  of  James  Otis;  nor  hail  slic 
lost  the  grace?  of  person  or  conversational  powers,  which  made  her  still  a 
charming  companion."     For  reasons  apparent  to  the  reader,  she  resolved  not 

to  send  her  "  History 
of  the  Ivevolutioii"  to 
the  press  during  lier 
husband's  lifetime. 

(ioing  beyond  tliu 
church,  we  come  upon 
the  open  space  of 
greensward,  inter- 
sected by  foot  pat  lis, 
known  as  Cole's  II ill. 
Some  defensive  works 
were  erected  on  tlii.s 
bank  in  1742,  in  the 
Ke volution, and  at!;aiii 
in  1814.  I  have  al- 
ready traversed  it 
in  imagination,  wlicii 
standing  on  the  sum- 
mit of  Burial  Hill 
It  is  no  longer  a 
place  of  graves,  nor 
does  it  in  the  least  suggest,  by  any  monumental  symbol,  the  tragedy  of  the 
Pilgrims'  first  winter  here,  when,  as  Bradford  touchingly  says,  "  Y"  well  were 
not  in  any  measure  sufficient  to  tend  y°  sicke;  nor  the  living  scarce  ablo  to 
burie  the  dead."  Their  greatest  strait  was  in  May  and  June,  when  there 
were  no  wild  fowl.  Winslow  says  they  were  without  good  tackle  or  seines 
to  take  the  fish  that  swam  so  abundant! v  in  the  harbor  and  creeks. 


THE  JOANNA    DAVIS   UOt'SE,  COLE'S   UlLL. 


rLYMOUTII,  CLAIIKS  ISLAND,  AND  DUXHUUV. 


280 


■\V('  may  not  <lisGjiiiso  tlio  f;u't.  TIio  least  attractivo  ol»joct  is  tlio  Uock  of 
till'  I'oii'l'allicrs.  Tlio  straiij^i'r  who  cunios  ])r('j)art'd  lo  <lo  lioiiiagc  to  tlio  spot 
tlio  Pilgrims'  ll'ot  first  pri'sscd,  limls  liis  st'iisibility  strifl<t'ii  in  a  vital  place. 
Tlio  insigiiiHcaiit  appearance  of  the  roel<  itself,  buried  out  of  sight  beneath  a 
sliiiiio  made  with  hands,  and  the  separation  of  the  sacred  ledge  into  two  frag- 
iiuiits,  each  of  which  claims  a  divided  regard,  give  a  death-blow  to  the  enuf- 
tioiis  of  awe  and  reverence  with  which  he  approaches  this  corner-stone  of 
Ainorican  history. 

I'lymouth  liock,  or  rather  what  is  left  of  it  in  its  original  jiosition,  is 
readied    by    following    Water  ^^   _    ._ 

Stroot,  which,  as  its  name  iiidi- 
ati's,  skirts  the  shore,  conduct- 
ing you  through  a  region  once 
(liivotod  to  commerce,  now 
aitparoutly  consigned  to  irre- 
tiiovable  decay.  Near  Hedge's 
Wharf,  and  in  close  vicinity  to 
the  old  Town  Dock,  is  the  ob- 
ject of  our  present  search.  A 
canopy,  designed  by  Billings,  has 
been  built  above  it.  I  entered. 
Ill  the  stone  pavement  is  a  cav- 
ity of  perhaps  two  u.  -t  square, 
and  underneath  the  uneven  sur- 
face the  rock  appears.  I  had 
often  wished  to  stand  here,  but 
now  all  enthusiasm  was  gone 
out  of  tne.  I  had  rather  have  contented  myself  with  the  small  piece  so  long 
treasured,  and  with  the  loom  of  the  rock  as  my  imagination  had  beheld  it, 
than  to  stand  in  the  actual  presence  of  it. 

By  the  building  of  street  and  wharf  on  a  higher  level  the  rock  is  now  at 
some  little  distance  from  high-water  mark.'  At  one  time  the  sea  had  heaped 
the  sand  upon  it  to  the  dejitli  of  twenty  feet,  but  the  tradition  of  the  spot 
had  boon  well  kept,  and  at  the  dawn  of  the  devolution  the  sand  was  cleared 
away,  and  the  rock  again  laid  bare.  This  was  i-n  1'774.  In  the  attempt  to  re- 
move it  from  its  bed  it  split  asunder,  the  superstitious  seeing  in  this  accident- 
al frac'uie  a  presage  of  the  division  of  the  British  empire  in  America.  The 
upper  half,  or  shell,  of  Forefathers'  Rock  was  removed  to  the  middle  of  the 
village,  and  placed  at  the  end  of  a  wall,  where,  along  with  vulgar  stones,  it 


Pl.TMOUXn  KOCK  IN  1850. 


'  In  1741,  wlien  it  w.is  proposed  to  build  a  whnrf  near  the  rock,  it  was  pointed  out  ns  the  iden- 
'icnl  latuling-phicc  of  the  Pilgrims  by  Elder  Tiioinas  Faunce,  who,  having  been  born  in  1646,  had 
received  the  fact  from  the  original  settlers. 

19 


290 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


proppeil  the  cmbauivmcnt.  In  1834  the  fractured  half  was  rcmovefl  from  tho 
town  S([uarc  to  its  present  position  in  front  of  I'ilyriin  Ilall,  where  it  is  now 
lyiiiijj, 

Tlie  honor  of  havini^  first  set  foot  on  tliis  tlireslioM  of  fame  is  claimed  for 
John  AliU'ii  ami  Mary  Chillon.  The  (juestion  of  j)r('ceck'nce  will  prohahly 
iiev(!r  be  settled.  It  is  also  claimed  for  the  ex}il()rinj^  piU'ty  who  landed  from 
the  shallop  on  INIonday,  the  ^|st  of  December,  commoidy  called  Forefathers' 
Day.' 

For  more  than  two  hundred  years  the  22d  of  December  liad  been  observed 
as  the  day  of  the  landin<;;  that  is,  in  elfect,  to  say,  it  had  been  so  observed  by 
the  Pilgrims  themselves,  by  their  descendants  around  their  firesides,  and  had 
received  the  sanction  of  formal  eommemoralion,  in  1709,  by  the  Old  Colony 
Club.  JMen  were  then  living  who  were  within  two  generations  of  the  tiist 
comers,  and  retained  all  their  traditions  unimpaired.  After  this  long  ])enod 
had  elapsed,  it  was  assumed  that  the  Pilgrims  had  designed  to  signalize  \\w 
landing  of  tho  exploring  party  of  eighteen,  rather  than  that  from  the  Mai/Jfoir. 
er,  and  u))on  this  theory,  by  adopting  the  new  style,  the  landing  was  tixed 
ibr  the  21st,  a  substitution  which  has  been  generally  acquiesced  in  hy  ru- 
cent  writers.  Unless  it  is  believed  that  the  landing  of  the  party  of  discovery 
possessed  greater  significance  to  the  Pilgrims,  and  to  those  who  lived  within 
hearing  of  tho  voices  of  the  3T((yJfom't\  than  the  disembarkation  of  the  whole 
body  of  colonists  on  the  very  strand  they  had  finally  adopted  for  their  fiiliire 
home,  the  presumption  of  error  in  computing  the  difference  between  old  and 
new  style  has  little  force. 

For  six  weeks  these  explorations  had  continued  all  along  the  coast-line  of 
Cape  Cod,  and  nothing  had  been  settled  until  tho  return  of  the  last  [)arty  to 
the  ship.  The  Mityfloxner  then  sailed  for  Plymouth,  and  cast  anchor  in  the 
harbor  on  the  IGth  ;  but  the  explorations  continued,  nor  was  there  a  decision 
until  the  20tb  as  to  the  best  point  for  fixing  the  settletnent.  Moreover,  tiicro 
are  no  precise  reasons  for  saying  that  the  first  exploring  party  landed  any- 
where within  the  limits  of  the  present  town  of  Plymouth,  nor  any  tradition 
of  its  making  the  rock  a  stepi)ing-stone. 

We  prefer  to  believe  that  the  Pilgrims  meant  to  illustrate  the  landing 
from  the  ATayfloxocr — the  event  emphasized  by  poets,  painters,  and  orators— 
as  marki.  g  tne  true  era  of  settlement;  that  the  22d  of  December  was  intelli- 


'  This  party  consisted  of  eighteen  persons— viz.,  Miles  Stnndish,  John  Carver,  William  Bradford, 
Edward  Winslow,  John  Tillcy,  Edward  Tilley,  John  Rowland,  Richard  Warren,  Steven  Hopkins, 
and  lulward  Doten.  Besides  these  were  two  seamen,  John  Alderton  and  Thomas  Eiiglisli.  f*f 
the  ship's  comjiany  were  Clark  and  Coppin,  two  of  the  master's  mates,  the  master-;;innicr,  ami 
three  sailors.  This  little  band  of  discoverers  left  the  ship  at  anchor  at  Cape  Cod  Ilarlior  on  the 
^Pjjth  of  December.  Mourt  calls  Alderton  and  English  "two  of  our  seamen,"  in  distinction  fioin 
the  ship's  company  proper,  they  having  been  sent  over  by  the  undertakers,  in  the  service  of  the 
plantation. 


PLYMOUTH,  CI.AUK'S   ISLAND,  AND   DUXHUUY. 


291 


from  lliu 
it  is  now 

liiinu'il  for 

iidoil  from 
ovetatliers' 

n  ol)s(>rvoil 

ibsorvi'i]  by 

es,  autl  liad 

Old  Colony 
of  the  tirsl 

loiiii;  |)cvio(l 

signalize  \\w 

ho  M'll/pir- 

\it  was  tixi'tl 

lid  in  by  re- 
of  discovery 
lived  within 
of  the  whole 

r  their  future 

ween  old  and 

coast-liue  of 
last  party  to 
.iichor  in  tlie 
;re  a  decision 
oreover,  there 
landed  any- 
Ijvny  tradition 

tlic  laiidiiig 
ind  orators- 
|^^,i-  ^vas  iutelli- 

IVilliiUii  nnulfovd. 
Steven  llopl^ins 
Inas  En«li>l>.  Of 
laster-giit""-''''  '^"" 
lod  Harbor  on  the 
distinciion  from 


Ithe  service 


.  of  the 


gently  adopted  by  those  best  ublo  to  judge  of  their  inter.tions;  and  that  an 
uiihii'ken  cMstoin  of  more  than  two  ecnturics  sliould  remain  undisturbud, 
even  it' it  liad  originated  in  a  teehnical  error,  wliich  we  i\o  not  beliovo  was  tlic 
case.  "This  roek,"  says  the  gifted  De  Toe(iiieville,  "  lias  beeomo  an  objeet  of 
veneration  in  tlic  Ifiiited  States.  I  have  stcn  bits  of  it  carefiUly  preserved  in 
several  towns  of  the  Union.  Docs  not  this  sufficiently  show  that  all  human 
power  and  greatness  is  in  the  soul  of  man  ?  Here  is  a  stone  which  the  .eet 
of  a  few  outcasts  pressed  for  an  instant,  and  the  stone  becomes  famous;  it  is 
treasined  by  a  great  nation ;  its  very  dust  is  shared  as  a  relic.  And  what 
has  become  of  the  gate-ways  of  a  thousaiul  palaces  ?  Who  cares  for  them  ?" 
The  skeleton  of  a  body  was  here  before  them,  but,  as  Carlyle  says,  the  soul 
was  wanting  until  these  men  and  women  came.  Mr.  Shcrley,  writing  to  Brad- 
ford, says, "  You  are  the  people  that  must  make  a  plantation  and  erect  a  city 
in  those  remote  places  when  all  others  fail  and  return." 

I  do  not  find  such  coiisjjicuous  examples  of  intolerance  among  the  l*il- 
griins  as  afterward  existed  in  the  Bay  Colony.  J^yibrd  said  they  were  Jes- 
uits ill  their  ecclesiastical  polity,  but  they  permitted  liim  to  gather  a  separate 
church  and  perform  the  Episcoj)al  service  among  them.  Jieyond  question, 
they  were  not  willing  to  see  the  hierarchy  from  which  they  had  fled  estab- 
lish itself  in  their  midst.  The  intrigues  of  such  men  as  Lyford  within  the 
colony,  and  Weston  in  the  company  at  home,  kept  back  the  remnant  of  their 
own  chosen  associates,  and  re-enlc)rced  them  with  churchmen,  or  else  men  of 
no  particular  religion  or  helpfulness. 

Ill  November,  1G21,  the  planters  received  an  accession  of  thirty-five  per- 
sons by  the  Portune.^  It  was  the  custom  in  the  ])lantation  for  the  governor 
to  call  all  the  able-bodied  men  together  every  day,  and  lead  them  to  their 
work  ill  the  fields  or  elsewhere.  On  Christmas-day  they  were  summoned  as 
usual,  but  most  of  the  new-comers  excused  themselves,  saying  it  was  against 
their  consciences  to  work  on  that  day.  The  governor  told  them  if  they  made 
it  a  matter  of  conscience  he  would  spare  them  until  they  were  better  inform- 
ed, lie  then  led  away  the  rest.  When  those  who  had  worked  came  home 
at  noon  they  found  the  conscientious  observers  of  the  day  in  the  street,  at 
play;  some  pitching  the  bar,  and  some  at  stool-ball  and  like  sports.  The 
governor  went  to  them,  took  away  their  impleinerits,  and  told  them  it  was 
ajraiiist  his  conscience  they  should  play  while  others  worked.  If  they  made 
keeping  the  day  a  matter  of  devotion,  they  must  keep  their  houses,  but  there 
must  be  no  gaming  or  reveling  in  the  streets.  Assuredly  there  was  some 
fun  ill  William  liradford,  governor. 

'  On  lier  return  voyage  the  Fortune  was  seized  by  a  French  man-of-war,  Captain  Frontenan  de 
Pennait,  who  took  Thomas  Bf  rton,  master,  and  the  rest  prisoners  to  the  Isle  of  Rhe,  plundering 
the  vessel  of  beaver  worth  five  iVindred  pounds,  belonging  to  the  TJlgrims.  The  vessel  and  crew 
were  discharged  after  a  brief  detention.—"  British  Archives." 


292 


THE   NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Hutchinson — after  all  the  abuse  of  hiui,  the  fairest  liistorian  as  to  what 
transpired  in  advance  of  the  lievohitionary  period — g'iv(;s  the  IMytnouth  col- 
onists credit  for  moderation.  When  j\Irs.  Hutchinson  was  banished  by  .Mus- 
sachnsetts,  slie  and  her  adherents  applied  for  and  obtained  leave  to  settle  on 
Aqiiidneck,  then  acknowledged  to  be  within  the  Plymouth  patent.  Ik'foro 
this,  Roger  Williams,  who  had  been  their  minister,  was,  after  his  banisluneiit 
from  Salem,  kindly  used,  though  requested  to  remove  beyond  their  litnils,  for 
fear  of  giving  offense  to  the  Massachusetts  colony.  Many  (Quakers  probably 
saved  their  lives  by  fleeing  to  riymoulh,  although  the  l*ilgrims  detested 
their  worship  and  enacted  laws  against  them.  The  town  of  Swanzey'  was  al- 
most wholly  settled  by  IJaptists. 

The  relations  of  the  Pilgrims  witli  the  Indians  were  founded  in  right  and 
justice,  and  stood  on  broader  grounds  than  mere  policy.  This  is  shown  in 
the  unswerving  attachment  of  INIassasoit,  the  iidelity  of  Samoset,  and  tiio 
friendship  of  Squanto.  The  appearance  of  Samoset  in  the  Pilgrim  village 
was  of  good  augury  to  the  colony,  and  is  worthy  of  a  more  appreciative  pen- 
cil than  has  yet  essayed  it. 

About  the  middle  of  March,  after  many  false  alarms  of  the  savages,  an  In- 
dian stalked  into  the  town.  Passing  silently  by  the  houses,  he  made  straight 
for  the  rendezvous.  I  think  I  see  the  matrons  and  maids  peeping  tlu-ongh 
their  lattices  at  the  dusky  intruder.  He  was  tall,  straight  of  limb,  and  coiiii'- 
ly,  with  long  black  hair  streaming  down  his  bare  back,  for,  except  a  narrow 
girdle  about  his  loins,  lie  was  stark  naked.  When  he  would  have  gone  into 
the  rendezvous  the  guanl  intercepted  him.  He  was  armed  with  a  bow,  and 
in  his  quiver  were  only  two  arrows,  one  headed,  the  other  uidieaded,  as  indi- 
catin.'  the  pacific  nature  of  his  mission.  Ilis  bearing  was  frank  and  fearless, 
as  becai,  '  a  sagamore.  "  Welcome,  Englislunen,"  he  said  to  the  by-standers, 
astounded,  ..s  well  they  might  be,  on  hearing  such  familiar  salutation  from  the 
lips  of  a  savage. 

The  first  thing  this  Indian  asked  for  was  beer.  The  Pilgrims  themselves 
preferred  it  to  water,  but  they  had  none  left;  so  they  feasted  him  on  good 
English  cheer,  and  gave  him  strong  waters  to  wash  ii  down.  His  naked  body 
excited  astonishment,  and  a  compassionate  Pilgrim  cast  a  horseman's  cloak 
about  him.  Of  all  the  assembly  that  encircled  him,  Samoset  alone  seemed 
unconcerned.  The  settlers  had  seen  skulking  savages  on  the  hills,  but  they 
knew  not  what  to  make  of  this  fellow,  who  thus  dropped  in  on  tlit^ii,  as  it 
were,  for  a  morning  call.  Since  their  first  encounter  with  the  Nauset  Iiidians, 
they  expected  enmity,  and  not  friemlship.  A  midnight  assault  in  tlieir  nn- 
prepared  state  was  the  thing  most  dreaded.  Peace  or  war  seemed  to  reside 
in  the  person  of  this  Indian.  Tliey  watched  him  narrowly.  At  niglit-fall  they 
hoped  he  would  take  his  leave;  but  ho  showed  neither  disposition  to  dcpjirt, 


'  First  ppelled  Swnnsea,  and  namei!  from  Swansea,  in  Soutli  Wales. 


TLYMOUTH.  CLAUKS   IS. .AND,  AND   DUXBUllY. 


293 


as  to  Nvliat 
vmoulli  foi- 
led by  Miis- 
to  settle  oil 
Mit.     Uefoi'c 

banislmu'iit 
iir  limits,  tor 
ers  probably 
ins  (lelL'sU'd 
nzey'  was  al- 

in  vici;bt  and 
3  is  shown  in 
osot,  aiul  tlio 
Igrim  village 
rcciative  pen- 

avagos,  an  In- 
inatk'  straight 
-ping  through 
nib,  ami  fonie- 
cept  a  narrow 
lave  gone  into 
th  a  bow,  and 
adoil,  as  indi- 
:viiil  R-avle^s, 
10  by-slanders, 
ation  iVom  the 

iins  themselves 
\  him  on  good 
lis  nakodbody 
rsomau's  (doak 
i  alone  seemed 
bills,  bnt  they 
„n  them,  as  it 
Nauset  Indian!', 
lit  in  their  un- 
.fined  to  i-csiac 
t  niglit-t'all  they 
ition  to  depart, 

ales. 


nor  distrust  at  beholding  himself  the  evident  object  of  mingled  fear  and  sus- 
picion. They  concluded  to  send  him  on  board  the  Jfat/Jfower  for  safe-keeping, 
and  Samoset  went  willingly  to  the  shallop ;  but  it  was  low  tide,  and  they 
could  not  reach  the  vessel.  So  they  lodged  him  in  Steven  Hopkins's  house. 
Tiie  next  day  he  left  them  to  go  to  Massasoit,  and  they  finished  by  recogniz- 
ing him  as  a  friend,  sent  them  by  Heaven.  Samoset  was  the  Pemaquid  chief, 
of  whom  we  should  gladly  know  more  than  we  do.  His  coininiuiications  were 
of  importance  to  the  Pilgrims,  for  Bradford  admits  that  the  exact  description 
he  gave  them  of  his  own  country  and  of  its  resources  Avas  very  profit!,  de  to 
them.  I  suppose  it  led  to  their  establishing  the  trading-houses  at  Penobscot 
and  Kennebec,  and  to  the  addition  of  the  strip  of  country  on  the  latter  river 
to  their  patent  of  1629,  afterward  enlarged  by  other  tracts  purchase  :1  of  the 
hidians.  The  Pilgrims  preferred  tra  ling  to  fishing,  and  no  subsequent  colony 
had  siudi  an  oiiportunity  to  enrich  themselves;  but  it  was  the  policy  of  the 
Englisii  adventurers  to  keep  them  poor,  and  it  may  be  questioned  whether 
they  developed  the  shrewdness  in  traffic  for  which  their  descendants  have 
become  renowned. 

Samoset's  coming  paved  the  way  for  that  of  jMassasoit,  who  made  liis  en- 
try into  Plymouth  with  Indian  pomp,  in  March.  He  was  preceded  by  Samo- 
set and  Squanto,'  who  Informed  the  settlers  that  the  king  was  close  at  hand. 
The  Pilgrims  were  then  assembled  under  arms  on  the  top  of  Burial  Hill,  en- 
gaged in  military  oxer  ise,  and  witnessed  the  approach  of  Massasoit  with  his 
savage  retinue  of  sixtj  warriors.  Here  were  two  representative  delegations 
of  the  Old  World  and  the  New;  the  English  in  steel  caps  and  corslets,  the 
Lidians  in  Avild  beasts'  skins,  paint,  and  feathers.  The  bearing  of  the  Chris- 
tians was  not  more  martial  than  that  of  the  savages. 

The  Pilgrims  stood  on  their  dignity,  and  waited.  At  the  king's  request, 
Edward  Winslow  went  out  to  hold  parley  with  him.  His  shining  armor  de- 
lighted the  Indian  sachem,  who  would  have  bought  it,  together  with  his 
sword,  oil  the  spot,  but  Winslow  was  unwilling  to  part  with  either.  After 
mutual  salutations  and  some  talk  of  King  James,  Massasoit,  accompanied  by 
twenty,  i)roceeds  to  the  town,  leaving  Winslow  a  hostage  in  the  hands  of 
QaadtMpiina,  his  brother.  At  the  town  brook  JMassasoit  is  met  by  Standish 
with  half  a  dozen  musketeers.  Here  are  more  grave  salutations,  and  then  the 
king  is  conducted  to  an  unfinished  house,  where  the  utmost  state  the  Pilgrims 
eould  contrive  was  a  green  rug  and  three  or  four  cushions  placed  on  the  floor. 
There  is  a  roll  of  drum  and  blast  of  trumpet  in  the  street,  and  Bradford, 
attended  by  musketeers,  enters.  He  kisses  the  hand  of  the  New  England 
prince — "tho',"  says  Mourt,  "the  king  looked  greasily"  —  and  the  savage 


'  Sqimnto  wns  one  of  the  Indians  kidnnped  by  Hunt,  and  tlie  last  surviving  native  inhabitant 
of  riyinoniii.  lie  had  lived  in  London  with  John  Shiny,  merchant,  treasurer  of  the  Newfoundland 
(Jonij)uiiy. 


294 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


kisses  Brarlford.  Then  they  sit.  The  governor  calls  for  a  stoup  of  strong 
waters,  which  he  quaffs  to  tlie  king,  after  the  manner  of  chivalry;  the  rovai 
savage  drinks,  in  return,  a  great  draught,  that  makes  him  "  sweate  all  the  lime 
after." 

"Give  me  the  cups, 

And  let  the  kettle  to  the  tiun)i)et  speak, 

The  trumpet  to  the  cannoneer  without, 

Tiie  cannons  to  »lie  iieavens,  the  heaven  to  earth. 

'Now  the  king  drinks  to  Hamlet.'    Come,  begin." 

It  may  interest  some  readers  to  know  what  a  real  Indian  king  was  like. 
"He  was,"  says  an  eye-witness,  "a  very  luslie  man,  in  his  best  yeares,  an  able 
body,  grave  of  countenance,  and  spare  of  speech ;  in  his  Attyre  little  or  noth- 
ing differing  from  the  rest  of  his  followers,  otdy  in  a  great  Chaine  of  white 
bono  Beades  about  his  necke ;  and  at  it  behinde  his  necke  hangs  a  little  biigg 
of  Tobacco,  which  he  dranke  and  gave  us  to  drinke ;  his  face  was  painted  with 
a  sad  red  like  murry,  and  oyled  both  head  and  face,  that  .;ee  looked  greasily. 
All  his  followers,  likewise,  were  in  their  faces  in  whole  or  in  part  paiiitoti, 
some  blacke,  some  red,  some  yellow,  and  some  white,  some  with  crosses,  and 
other  Antick  workes,  some  had  skins  on  them,  and  some  naked,  all  strong, 
tall,  all  men  in  appearance. 

"One  thing  I  forgot;  the  king  liad  in  his  bosome,  hanging  to  a  string,  a 
great  long  knife.  lie  marvelled  much  at  our  tnunp'-'tj  and  some  of  his  uaii 
would  sound  it  as  well  as  they  could."  Mourt  also  states  that  the  king  trem- 
bled with  fear  while  he  sat  by  the  governor,  and  that  the  savages  showed 
such  apprehension  of  the  fire-arms  that  the  governor  caused  them  to  be  re- 
moved during  the  conference. 

This  was  the  first  American  Congress  of  which  I  have  found  mention. 
The  Indians  knew  what  a  treaty  of  amity  meant.  They  needed  no  instruc- 
tion in  international  law.  I  believe  they  knew  the  Golden  Kule,  or  had  a 
strong  inkling  of  it.  That  was' a  coir-ention  more  famous  than  the  Field  of 
the  Cloth  of  Gold,  though  there  were  but  a  green  rug  and  a  few  cu.-liions. 
"The  peace,"  Bradford  Avrites,  "hath  now  (1645)  contim.ed  this  twenty-four 
years."  "To  which  I  may  add,"  says  Prince,  "yea,  30  years  longer,  viz.,  to 
1675." 

The  Indians,  at  the  entertainment  given  them  in  Plymouth,  partook  heart- 
ily of  the  food  set  before  them,  but  they  could  not  be  induced  to  taste  spices 
or  condiments.  Salt  was  not  used  by  them.  Gosnold  regaled  them  with  a 
picnic  at  the  Vineyard,  of  which  John  Brereton  says,  "the  Indians  misliked 
nothing  but  our  mustard,  whereat  they  made  many  a  sowre  face."  I  doubt 
not  the  English  spread  it  thickly  on  the  meat,  even  at  the  hazard  of  good 
understanding. 

It  took  these  simple  natives  a  long  time  to  comprehend  the  English  nielh- 
od  of  correspondence.     They  could  not  penetrate  the  mystery  of  talking  pa- 


PLYMOUTH,  CLARK'S  ISLAND,  AXr   MUXBURY. 


295 


per.  Tlicro  is  a  story  of  an  Iiulian  sent  by  Governor  Dudley  to  a  lady  with 
some  oranges,  the  present  being  aceonipanied  with  a  letter  in  which  the  num- 
ber was  mentioned.  When  out  of  the  town,  the  Indian  put  the  letter  under 
a  stone,  and  going  a  short  distance  off,  ate  one  of  the  oranges.  His  astonish- 
ment at  finding  the  theft  discovered  was  unbounded. 

I  did  not  omit  a  ramble  among  the  wharves,  but  saw  little  that  would  in- 
terest the  reader.  When  you  are  there,  the  proper  thing  to  do  is  to  take  a 
bout  and  cross  the  bay  to  Clark's  Island  and  Duxbury.  We  sailed  over  the 
submerged  piles  at  the  end  of  Long  Wharf;  for  the  pier,  once  tlie  pride  of 
Plymouth,  was  fast  going  to  wreck.  The  tops  of  the  piles,  covered  with  sea- 
weed kept  in  motion  by  the  waves,  bore  an  unpleasant  resemblance  to  drown- 
ed human  heads  bobbing  up  and  down.  As  we  i)assed  close  to  the  new  light- 
house off  Beach  Point,  the  boatman  remarked  that  when  it  was  being  i)laced 
in  position  the  caisson  slipped  in  the  slings,  and  dropped  to  the  bottom  near- 
er the  edge  of  the  channel  than  was  desirable. 

Having  wind  enough,  we  were  soon  up  with  Saquisli  Head,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  more  were  fast  moored  to  the  little  jetty  at  Clark's  Island.  The 
presence  at  one  time  of  two  islands  in  Plymouth  Bay  is  fully  attested  by 
coin|ietent  witnesses.  JNIany  have  supjwsed  lirown's  Island,  a  shoal  seaward 
of  Deuch  Point,  to  have  beei,  one  of  these,  tradition  affirming  that  the  stumi)s 
of  trees  have  been  seen  there.  One  author'  believes  Brown's  Island  to  have 
been  above  water  in  the  time  of  the  Pilgrims.  Champlain  locates  two  islands 
on  Duxbury  side,  with  particulars  that  leave  no  doubt  where  they  then  were. 
Mourt  twice  mentions  them,  and  they  are  on  Blauw's  uuip  inside  the  Gurnet 
headland.  In  an  account  of  Plymouth  Harbor,  printed  near  the  close  of  the 
last  century,  two  islands  are  mentioned:  "Clark's,  consisting  of  about  one 
hundred  acres  of  excellent  land,  and  Saqulsh,  which  was  joined  to  the  Gurnet 
by  a  narrow  piece  of  sand :  for  several  years  the  water  has  made  its  way 
across  and  insulated  it.  The  Gurnet  is  an  eminence  at  the  southern  extrem- 
ity of  the  beach,  on  which  is  a  light-house,  built  by  the  State."" 

Bradford  mentions  the  narrow  esea]»o  of  their  pinnace  from  shipwreck  on 
her  return  from  Narraganset  in  1(323,  by  "driving  on  y'' Jfats  tiiat  lye  with- 
out, caled  Brown's  Hands."  Winthrop  relates  that  in  IGJIS  "two  shallops, 
going,  laden  with  goods,  to  Connecticut,  were  taken  in  the  night  with  an  east- 
erly storm  and  cast  away  upon  Brown's  Island,  near  the  Gurnett's  Nose,  and 
the  men  all  drowned."  In  180G  it  was,  as  now,  a  shoal.  There  can  be  little 
dispute  as  to  Saquish  having  been  permanently  united  to  the  main-land  by 
those  shiftiusx  movements  conunon  to  a  sea-coast  of  sand.' 


'AVinsor,  "History  of  Duxbury,"  p.  2(!,  note. 

''  See  ante,  also  "  Miissacluisetts  Historical  Collections,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  r>.     First  light-house  erected 
1"63:  burned  1801. 

'  Siujuish  is  the  Indian  for  clams.     They  are  of  extraordinary  size  in  riymoutli  and  Duxbury. 


296 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


«o«t     ...' 


TUE  GUKNET. 

It  is  rather  remarkable  that,  with  a  sea-coast  exceeding  that  of  the  other 
New  England  colonies,  Plymouth  had  so  few  good  harbors.  The  beach,  tlio 
safeguard  of  Plymouth,  was  once  covered  on  the  inner  side  with  ])luni  and 
wild  cherry  trees,  pitch-pines,  and  undergrowth  similar  to  that  existing  on 
Cape  Cod  and  the  adjacent  islands.  Tlie  sea  has,  in  great  storms,  made  a 
clean  breach  through  it,  digging  channels  by  which  vessels  passed.  Tliore 
was  a  shocking  disaster  within  the  harbor  in  December,  1778,  when  the  pri- 
vateer brig  General  Arnold  broke  from  her  anchorage  in  the  Cow  Yard,'  ami 
was  driven  by  the  violence  of  the  gale  upon  the  sand-fiats.  Twenty-i'oiir 
hours  elapsed  before  assistance  could  be  rendered,  and  when  it  arrived  s(!V- 
enty-five  of  the  crew  had  perished  from  freezing  and  exhaustion,  and  the  re- 
mainder were  more  dead  than  alive." 

As  ve  sailed  I  observed  shoals  of  herring  breaking  water,  or,  as  the  fisher- 
men word  it,  "scooting."  Formerly  they  were  taken  in  prodigious  quantity, 
and  used  by  the  Pilgrims  to  enrich  their  land.  Squanto  gave  them  the  hint 
of  putting  one  in  every  hill  of  corn.  Ilis  manner  of  fishing  for  eels,  I  may 
add,  was  new  to  me.  He  trod  them  out  of  the  mud  with  his  feet,  and  canj^tit 
them  in  his  hands.     I  was  surprised  at  the  n..mber  of  seals  continually  rising 


'  An  anchornge  near  Clark's  Island,  so  called  from  a  cow-whale  having  been  taken  there. 

"The  following  account  of  what  straits  light-keepers  have  been  subjected  to  in  coast-harbors 
during  the  past  winter  will  perhaps  be  read  witii  some  surprise  by  those  acquainted  with  I'lymDiith 
only  in  its  summer  aspect :  "  On  Tuesday  evening,  February  !)th,  1875,  the  United  States  revenue 
steamer  Gallatin  put  into  Plymouth  harbor  for  the  night,  to  avoid  a  north-west  gale  blowing  niit- 
siile.  On  the  morning  of  the  lOtli,  at  daylight,  when  getting  under  way.  Captain  Sclden  dist'overeil 
n.  signal  of  distress  flying  on  Duxbury  J'ier  Light.  The  liglit-house  was  so  surrounded  by  ice  that 
he  was  utterly  unable  to  reach  the  pier  with  a  boat;  the  ca])tain,  therefore,  steamed  the  vessel 
through  the  ice  near  enough  to  converse  with  the  keeper,  and  found  that  he  had  had  no  connnimi- 
cation  with  any  one  outside  of  the  light  since  December  'J2d,  1874  ;  that  his  fuel  and  water  were 
out;  and  that  they  had  been  on  an  allowance  of  a  j)int  of  water  a  day  since  Febriuiry  Gth,  187"). 
The  steamer  forced  her  way  to  within  some  fifty  or  seventy-fivo  yards  of  the  pier,  when  Lieutenants 
Weston  and  Clayton,  with  the  boats,  succeeded,  after  two  hours'  hard  work  cutting  through  the 
ice,  in  reaching  the  pier,  and  furnished  the  keeper  and  his  wife  with  plenty  of  wood  and  water." 


rLYMOUTII,  CLARK'S  ISLAND,  AND  DUXBUKY. 


20: 


of  the  other 
le  boat')),  the 
th  ijlmu  and 
,  existing;  011 
)rnis,  made  ;i 
ssed.  There 
vhou  the  ])vi- 
\v  Yard,'  ami 

Twenty-lbur 
t  arrived  sev- 
and  the  re- 

as  the  fislier- 
us  (}uaiitity, 

leiu  tlio  liinl 
eels,  1  may 
and  canjitil 

mually  rising 

iken  tlicre. 
ill  coiist-liarbors 
with  riymoiith 
id  Stiitcs  i-uveime 
[lie  blowiiiK  ont- 
ickleii  disc'overeil 
mJed  by  ice  tlmt 
!;inied  tiio  vessel 
;id  no  c'oninuini- 
iiiul  water  were 
niiiry  (ii!i,  ^^'-'^ 
viien  LieuttMi;ints 
iug  through  the 
d  imd  water." 


wilhin  half  a  cable's  length  of  the  boat,  at  whieh  they  curiously  gazed  with 
their  bright  liquid  eyes.  We  di'l  them  no  harm  as  ever  and  anon  one  pushed 
his  sleek  round  head  and  whiskered  muzzle  above  water.  Hundreds  of  them 
disport  themselves  here  in  summer,  though  in  winter  they  iisually  migrate. 

It  is  only  a  little  way  from  the  landing-place  at  Clark's  Island  to  the  ven- 
erable Watsin  mansion,  seen  embowered  among  trees  as  wo  aj)proached.' 
The  jiarent  house 
was  removed  from 
its  iirst  situation, 
rather  nearer  the 
water  than  it  now 
stands,  and  has 
incorporated  with 
itself  newer  addi- 
tions,till  it  is  quite 
lost  in  the  trans- 
formation it  has 
inulergone.  The 
island  is  a  charm- 
ing spot,  and  the 
house  a  substan- 
tial, hospitable 
one.  I  did  not 
like  it  the  less  be- 
cause it  was  old,  and  seemed  to  carry  me  something  nearer  to  the  Pilgrims 
than  any  of  the  white  band  of  houses  I  saw  across  the  bay.  Ducks,  turkeys, 
geese,  and  fowls  lived  in  good-fellowship  together  in  the  barn-yard,  where 
were  piled  unseawortiiy  boats;  and  store  of  old  lumber-drifts  the  sea  had  pro- 
vided against  the  winter.  The  jaw-bone  of  a  M'hale,  that  jNIr.  Watson  said  he 
had  found  stranded  on  the  beach,  and  brought  home  on  his  back,  lay  bleach- 
ing ill  the  front  yard.  I  may  have  looked  a  trifle  incredulous,  for  the  hale 
old  gentleman,  turned,  I  should  say,  of  thixie-score,  drew  himself  up  as  if  he 
would  say,  "  Sir,  I  can  do  it  again." 

After  showing  us  his  family  i)ortraits,  ancient  furniture,  and  other  heir- 
looms, our  host  told  us  how  Sir  Edmund  Andros  had  tried  to  dispossess  his 
ancestors.  My  companion  and  myself  then  took  the  ])ath  leading  to  Election 
Hock,  that  owes  its  name,  doubtless,  to  some  local  event.  It  is  a  large  boul- 
der, al)oiit  twelve  feet  high,  on  the  highest  point  of  the  island.     Two  of  its 

'  Tlieie  is  tradition  for  it  tliat  Edward  Dotey,  tlie  fighting  serving-nian,  was  tiie  first  wiio  at- 
tempted to  land  on  Clark's  Island,  bnt  was  checked  for  his  ]iiesiimption.  Klkanah  Watson  was 
one  of  the  three  original  grantees  of  the  island,  which  has  remained  in  the  family  since  IGDO.  Tre- 
vious  to  tlmt  time  it  belonged  to  the  town.  The  other  proprietors  were  Samuel  Lucas  and  ^ George 
Morton. 


WATSON'S  UOUSE,  CLAUK's  ISLAND. 


•298 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


ELECTION  KOCK,  CLAKK'S  ISLAND. 


faces  are  precipitous,  while  the  western  side  otiers  an  ear.y  ascent.     At  the 
instance  of  the  Pilgrim  Society,  the  following  words,  from  "  jNlourt's  lle- 

^__  lation,"  have  been  graven  on  iis 

"  On  the 
--ss^sHi-  Sabboth  Day 

_^^  wee  rested. 

20  December, 
1620." 

As  is  well  known  to  all  who 
liave  followed  the  fortunes  of  the 
little  band  of  eighteen — and  who 
has  not  followed  them  in  their 
toilsome  progress  in  search  of  a 
haven  of  rest? — tiieir  shallop,  after 
narrowly  escaping  wreck  among 
the  shoals  of  Saquisli,  gained  a  safe  anchorage  under  the  shelter  of  one  of  the 
then  existing  islands.  It  is  probable  that  when  they  rounded  Saquish  Head 
they  found  themselves  in  smoother  water. 

The  gale  liad  carried  away  tlieir  mast  and  sail  Tiieir  pilot  proved  not 
only  ignorant  of  the  place  into  which  he  was  steering,  but  a  coward  when  tiie 
pinch  came.  They  were  on  the  point  of  beaching  the  shallop  in  a  cove  full 
of  breakers,  when  one  of  the  sailors  bid  them  about  witli  her,  if  they  were 
men,  or  else  they  would  be  all  lost.  So  that  the  fortunes  of  the  intimt  col- 
ony hung,  at  this  critical  moment,  on  the  presence  of  mind  of  a  nameless 
mariner. 

Cold,  hungry,  and  wet  to  the  skin,  they  remained  all  night  in  a  situation 
which  none  but  the  roughest  campaigner  would  know  how  rightly  to  estimate. 
The  Indians  had  met  them,  at  Eastham,  with  such  determined  hostility  tbat 
they  expected  no  better  reception  here.  Their  arms  were  wet  and  unserv- 
iceable. As  usual,  present  discomfort  triumphed  over  their  fears,  for  many 
were  so  much  exhausted  that  they  could  no  longer  endure  their  misery  011 
board  the  shallop.  Some  of  them  gained  the  shore,  where  with  great  diffi- 
culty they  lighted  a  fire  of  the  wet  wood  they  were  able  to  collect.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  party  were  glad  to  join  them  before  midnight;  for  the  wind 
shifted  to  north-west,  and  it  began  to  freeze.  They  had  little  idea  where 
they  were,  having  come  upon  the  land  in  the  dark.  It  was  not  until  day- 
break that  they  knew  it  to  be  an  island.  Surely,  these  were  times  to  try  the 
souls  of  men,  and  to  wring  the  selfishness  out  of  them. 

This  night  bivouac,  this  vigil  of  the  Pilgrims  around  their  blazing  camp- 
fire,  the  flames  painting  their  bronzed  faces,  and  sending  a  grateful  warmth 
into  benumbed  bodies,  was  a  subject  worthy  the  pencil  of  Rembrandt,  I 
doubt  that  they  dared  lay  their  armor  aside  or  shut  their  eyes  the  live-long 
night.    I  believe  they  were  glad  of  the  dawn  of  a  bright  and  glorious  Decern- 


PLYMOUTH,  CLARK'S  ISLAND,  AND  DUXBURY. 


299 


bor  day,"  They  dried  tlicir  buft'  coats,  cleansed  llioir  arms  of  rust,  and  Celt 
themselves  once  more  men  fit  for  action.  Then  they  shouldered  their  mus- 
kets and  reconnoitred  the  island.  Probably  the  eighteen  stood  on  the  sum- 
mit of  this  rock. 

I  found  Clark's  Island  to  possess  a  charm  exceeding  any  so-called  restora- 
tion or  monumental  inscription  —  the  charm  of  an  undisturbed  state.  No 
doubt  much  of  the  original  Ibrest  has  disappeared,  and  Boston  has  yet  to  re- 
turn the  cedar  gate-posts  so  carefully  noted  by  every  succeeding  chronicler 
of  the  Old  Colony.  A  few  scrubby  originals  of  this  variety  yet,  however,  re- 
main ;  and  the  eastern  side  of  the  island  is  not  destitute  of  trees.  The  air 
was  sweet  and  wholesome,  the  sea-breeze  invigorating.  In  the  quietude  of 
the  isle  the  student  may  open  his  history,  and  read  on  page  and  scene  the 
story  of  a  hundred  English  hearts  sorely  tried,  but  triumphing  at  last. 

History  has  not  told  us  how  the  eighteen  adventurous  Pilgrims  passed 
their  first  Sabbath  on  Clark's  Island.  One  writer  says  very  simply  "  wee 
rested;"  and  his  language  re-appears  on  the  tablet  of  imperishable  rock. 
Hiadt'ord  says,  on  the  "  last  day  of  y^  weeke  they  prepared  tlier  to  keepe  y^ 
Sabbath."  If  ever  they  had  need  of  rest  it  was  on  this  day;  and  if  ever  they 
had  reason  to  give  thanks  for  their  "  manifold  deliverances,"  now  was  the  oc- 
casion. They  would  hardly  have  stirred  on  any  enterprise  without  their 
Bible;  and  probably  one  having  the  imprint  of  Geneva,  with  figured  verses, 
was  now  produced.  Bradford,  yet  ignorant  of  his  wife's  death,  may  have 
prayed,  and  Winslow  exhorted,  as  both  admit  they  often  did  in  the  church. 
Master  Carver  may  have  struck  the  key-note  of  the  Hundredth  Psalm,  "the 
grand  old  Puritan  anthem;"  and  even  ^liles  Standish  and  the  "saylers" 
three,  may  have  joined  in  the  forest  hymnal," 

Hood,  in  his  "  History  of  Music  in  New  England,"  speaking  of  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  says:  "Singing  psalms,  at  that  day,  had  not 
become  an  amusement  among  the  people.  It  was  used,  as  it  ever  ought  to 
be,  only  as  a  devotional  act.  So  great  was  the  reverence  in  which  their 
psalm-tunes  were  held,  that  the  people  put  off  their  hats,  as  they  would  in 
prayer,  whenever  they  heard  one  sung,  though  not  a  word  was  uttered." 

On  leaving  Clark's  island  we  steered  for  Captain's  Hill.  By  this  time  the 
water  had  become  much  roughened,  or,  to  borrow  a  word  from  the  boatmen's 
vocabulary,  "choppy;"  I  should  have  called  it  hilly.  Our  attempt  to  land 
at  Duxbury  was  met  with  great  kicking,  bouncing,  and  squabbling  on  the 
par!;  of  the  boat,  which  seemed  to  like  the  chafing  of  the  wharf  as  little  as  we 
did  the  idea  of  a  return  to  Plymouth  against  wind  and  tide.     Quiet  persever- 


'  Saturday,  December  'Jtb,  Old  Style. 

"  No  reasonable  doubt  can  be  entertained  that  the  Pilgrims'  first  reb'gious  services  were  held  in 
Provincetown  Harbor,  either  on  board  the  Mayflower  or  on  shore.  Tliey  were  not  the  men  and 
women  to  permit  several  Sabbaths  to  pass  by  without  devotional  exercises. 


300 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


m 


1 

i 

■i' 

ancc,  however,  prcvailctl,  aiul,  after  clambering  up  tlie  piles,  we  stood  upon 
the  wharf.  A  short  walk  by  the  cart-way,  built  to  fetch  stone  from  the  pier 
to  the  monument,  brought  us  to  the  brow  of  the  hill. 

Captain's  Hill,  named  from  Chaplain  Miles  Standish,  its  early  possessor,  is  on 
a  peninsula  jutting  out  between  Duxbury  anil  Plymouth  bays.  Its  surfact' 
is  smooth,  with  few  trees,  except  those  belonging  to  the  farm-houses  near  its 
base.  The  soil,  that  is  elsewhere  in  Duxbury  sandy  and  unproductive,  is  here 
rather  fertile,  which  accounts  for  its  having  become  the  seat  of  the  puissant 
Captain  Staiidish.  The  monument,  already  mentioned  as  in  progress,  had  ad- 
vanced as  high  as  the  foundations.  As  originally  ])laimed,  it  was  to  be  built 
of  stones  contributed  by  each  of  the  New  England  States,  and  by  the  several 
counties  and  military  organizations  of  Massachusetts. 

Standish,  about  1632,  settled  upon  this  peninsula,  building  liis  house  on  a 
little  rising  ground  south-cast  of  the  hill  near  the  shore.  All  traces  that  are 
left  of  it  will  be  found  on  the  point  of  land  opposite  IVIr.  Stephen  Ii.  Allen's 
house.  The  cellar  excavation  was  Gtill  visible  when  I  visited  it,  with  some 
of  the  foundation-stones  lying  loosely  about.  Except  a  clump  of  young  trees 
that  had  become  rooted  in  the  hollows,  the  point  is  bare,  and  looks  any  thing 
but  a  desirable  site  for  a  homestead.  1*1  y mouth  is  in  full  view,  ■  s  is  also  the 
harbor's  open  mouth.  The  space  between  the  headland  on  which  the  house 
stood  and  Captain's  Hill  was  at  one  time  either  an  arm  of  the  sea,  or  else  in 
great  gales  the  water  broke  over  the  level,  forming  a  sort  of  lagoon.  3Ir, 
Winsor,  in  his  "  History  of  Duxbury,"  says  the  sea,  according  to  tlie  tradi- 
tions of  the  place,  once  flowed  between  Standish's  house  and  the  hill.  The 
ground  about  the  house,  he  adds,  has  been  turned  up  in  years  past,  the  search 
being  rewarded  by  the  recovery  of  several  relics  of  the  old  inhabitant.'  The 
house  is  said  to  have  been  burned,  but  so  long  ago  that  even  th'j  date  has 
been  quite  forgotten.  On  this  same  neck  Elder  Brewster  is  believed  to  have 
lived,  but  the  situation  of  his  dwelling  is  at  bes^t  doubtful. 

The  earliest  reference  I  have  seen  to  the  tradition  of  John  Alden  "popping 
the  question  "  to  Priscilla  MuUins  for  his  friend.  Miles  Standish,  is  in  "Aklcn's 
Epitaphs,"  printed  in  1814.     No  mention  is  there  of  the  snow-white  bull, 

"Led  by  a  cord  that  was  tied  to  an  iron  ring  in  its  nostrils, 
Covered  with  crimson  cloth,  and  a  cushion  placed  for  a  saddle." 

John  Alden's  marriage  took  place,  it  is  supposed,  in  1621.  The  first  cattle 
brought  to  Plymouth  were  a  bull,  a  heifer,  and  "three  or  four  jades,"  sent  by 
Mr.  Sherley,  of  the  Merchant's  Association,  in  1624.     They  were  consigned  to 


'  The  first  substance  discovered  was  a  quantity  of  barley,  charred  and  wrapped  in  a  blanket. 
Ashes,  as  fresh  as  if  the  fire  had  just  been  extinguished,  were  found  in  tiie  cliimney-pliicc,  with 
pieces  of  an  andiron,  iron  pot,  and  otiier  articles.  There  were  discovered,  also,  a  gun-locli,  sickle, 
hammer,  whetstone,  and  fragments  of  stone  and  earthen  ware.  A  sword-buckle,  tomaliawk,  brass 
kettle,  etc.,  with  glass  beads,  siiowing  the  action  of  intense  heat,  likewise  came  to  light. 


TLYMOUTII,  CLAUKS   ISLAND,  AND   DUXHUUY. 


301 


Winslow  and  Allertoii,  to  bo  sold.  The  tradition  of  the  embassy  of  Alden, 
and  of  tlio  iiicoinpuiably  arch  rejoinder  of  PriseiUa,  "  Prythee,  John,  why  don't 
you  speak  for  yourself?"  was  tinnly  believed  in  the  funiily  of  Alden,  where, 
iilcnij;  with  that  of  the  young  cooper  having  first  stepped  on  the  ever-famous 
lock,  it  had  passed  from  the  mouth  of  one  generation  to  another,  without 
i;iiiiis:iying. 

I  :uu  not  of  those  who  experience  a  tlirill  of  joy  at  destroying  the  illusions 
of  long-hoarded  family  traditions.  What  of  romance  has  been  interwoven 
willi  the  singularly  austere  lives  of  the  Puritans,  gracious  reader,  let  us  eher- 
isii  and  protect.  The  province  of  the  Dryasdust  of  to-day  is  to  bewilder,  to 
deny  the  existence  of  facts  that  have  jjassed  without  challenge  for  centuries. 
The  farther  he  is  from  the  event,  the  nearer  he  accounts  himself  to  truth, 
lli-storic  accuracy  becomes  another  name  lor  historic  anarchy.  Nothing  is 
settled.  The  grand  old  characters  he  strips  of  their  hard-earned  fame  can 
iu)t  confront  him.  Would  they  might !  Columbus,  Tell,  Pocahontas,  are  im- 
postors: Ireson's  Ride  and  Standish's  Courtship  are  rudely  handled.  His 
tactics  would  destroy  the  Christian  I'eligion.  Without  doubt  mere  historic 
truth  is  better  written  in  prose,  but  by  all  means  let  us  put  a  stop  to  the 
slaughter  of  all  the  first-born  of  New  England  poesy.  Let  us  have  I'uritan 
lovers  and  sweethearts  while  we  may.  "What  is  your  authority?"  asked  a 
visitor  of  the  guide  who  was  relating  the  story  of  a  ruined  castle.  "  We  have 
tiadition,  and  if  you  have  any  thing  better  we  will  be  glad  of  it." 

The  position  of  Standish  in  the  colony  was  in  a  degree  anomalous,  for  he 
was  neither  a  church  member  nor  a  devout  man.  But  the  Pilgrims,  who 
knew  on  occasion  how  to  smite  with  the  sword,  did  not  put  too  trifling  an 
estimate  upon  the  value  of  the  little  iron  man.  He  seems  to  have  deserved, 
as  lie  certainly  received,  their  confidence,  as  well  in  those  affairs  arising  out 
of  religious  disorders  among  them  as  in  those  of  a  purely  military  character. 
When  wanted,  they  knew  where  he  was  to  be  found. 

After  his  fruitless  embassy  to  England,  Standish  seems  to  have  turned  his 
sword  into  a  pruning-hook,  leading  a  life  of  rural  simplicit),  perhaps  of  com- 
parative ease.  He  had,  as  the  times  went,  a  goodly  estate.  There  is  little 
doubt  he  was  something  "splenetic  and  rash,"  or  that  the  elders  fearod  he 
would  bring  them  into  trouble  by  his  impetuous  temper.  He  was  of  a  race 
of  soldiers.'  Hubbard  calls  hira  a  little  chimney  soon  fired.  Lyford  speaks 
of  him  as  looking  like  a  silly  boy,  and  in  utter  contempt.  Tlie  Pilgrims  man- 
aged his  infirmities  with  address,  and  he  served  them  laithfully  as  soldier  and 
magistrate.  It  is  passing  strange  a  man  of  such  consequence  as  he  should 
sleep  in  an  unknown  grave. 

Near  the  foot  of  Captain's  Hill  is  an  old  gambicl-roofed  house,  with  the 


'  I  find  that  a  Captain  Standisli,  who  is  called  a  great  commander,  n  captain  of  foot,  was  killed 
in  an  attack  by  Lord  Strange  on  Manchester,  England,  during  the  Civil  War,  1612. 


302 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


date  of  1000  on  the  cliiiuiioy.  At  the  entranco  the  stairs  part  on  each  s'uh  of 
an  immense  chimney-stack.  The  timbers,  rongl>-hc\vn  and  exposed  to  view, 
are  bolted  with  tree-nails.  One  lire-place  would  have  contaiiu'd  a  Yulc-loij 
from  any  tree  in  the  primeval  forest.  The  hearth  was  in  breadth  like  a  side- 
walk. On  the  doors  were  wooden  latches,  or  bobbins,  with  the  lateh-strinir 
out,  as  we  read  in  nursery  tales.  The  front  of  the  house  was  covered  wiih 
climbiii'^  vines,  and,  taken  altogether,  as  it  stood  out  against  the  dark  hack- 
grouiul  of  the  hill,  was  as  ])icturesque  an  object  as  I  have  seen  in  many  a 
day.' 

I  would  like  to  walk  with  you  two  miles  farther  on,  and  visit  the  old  Al- 
den  homestead,  the  third  that  has  been  inhabited  by  the  family  since  pilj^riiii 
John  built  by  the  margin  of  Eagle  Tree  Pond.  This  old  house,  erected  by 
Colonel  Alden,  grandson  of  the  first-comer  of  the  name,  is  still  in  the  same 
family,  and  would  well  repay  a  visit;  but  time  and  tide  wait  for  us. 

Farther  on  I  havt^  rambled  over  ancient  Careswell,  the  seat  of  the  Wins- 
lows,  a  family  Avith  a  continuous  stream  of  history,  from  Kdward,  the  govern- 
or, who  became  one  of  Cromwell's  Americans,  and  died  in  his  service  (you 
may  see  his  letters  in  the  ponderous  folios  of  Thurloe),  down  to  the  winner  in 
the  sea-fight  between  the  ICearsarr/e  and  Alabama.  Beyond  is  the  mansion 
Daniel  Webster  inhabited  in  his  lifetime,  and  the  hill  wliere,  among  the  an- 
cient graves,  he  lies  entombed.  Here,  in  Kingston,  General  John 
Tiiomas,  of  the  Kevolution,  lived. 

Another  military  chieftain,  little  less  renowned  than  Standisli, 
was  Colonel  Benjamin  Church,  the  famous  Indian  fighter,  lie  was 
Plymouth-born,  but  lived  some  time  in  Duxbury.  In  turning  over 
the  pages  of  Philip's  and  King  William's  wars,  we  meet  him  often 
enough,  and  always  giving  a  good  account  of  himself.  One  act  of 
the  Plymouth  authorities  during  Philip's  war  deserves  eternal  in- 
famy. It  drew  from  Church  the  whole-hearted  denunciation  of 
a  brave  man. 

During  that  war  Dartmouth  was  destroyed.     The  Dartmouth 
Indians  had  not  been  concerned  in  this  outrage,  and  after  nnieh 
persuasion  were  induced  to  surrender  themselves  to  the  Plym- 
outh forces.     They  were  conducted  to  Plymouth.     The  Govern- 
ment ordered  all  of  them  to  be  sold  as  slaves,  and  they  were 
cnuucfi's     transported  out  of  the  country,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
swoKD.      and  sixty. " 
I  despaired  of  being  able  to  match  this  act  of  treachery  with  any  con- 
temporaneous history.     But  here  is  a  fragment  that  somewhat  approaches  it 


'  Til  is  house  has  been  stated  to  have  been  built  in  part  of  materinls  from  the  house  of  Captain 
Miles  Stnndish. 

'^  Baylies'a  "  New  Plymouth." 


rLYMOUTII,  CLAKK'S   ISLAND,  AND  DUXBUKY. 


303 


in  villiiiny.  In  1084  the  King  of  Friuico  wrote  M.  de  la  Tiurro,  Governor  of 
New  France,  to  soizo  as  many  of  the  Irorinois  as  possible,  and  send  them  to 
Kraiiee,  wliere  they  were  to  serve  in  tlu;  galleys,  in  order  to  diminish  the  tribe, 
wliicli  was  warlike,  and  waged  war  against  the  Freneh.  jNlaiiy  of  tliem  were 
actually  in  the  galleys  of  Marseilles.' 

The  balance  is  still  in  our  favor.  Tn  lVo5  avo  expatriated  lie  entire 
French  jiopulation  of  Aeadia.  JMr.  I^ongfellow  tells  the  story  gra])hieally  in 
"Evangeline."  John  Winslow,  of  Marshlield,  was  the  instrument  chosen  by 
the  home  government  for  the  work.  It  was  conducted  with  savage  barbarity. 
Kaniilii's  were  separated,  wives  from  linsbands,  children  from  ])areiits.  They 
wore  parceled  out  like  cattle  amony;  the  Kuiilish  settlements.  Their  acfurre- 
gati  number  was  nearly  two  thousand  persons,  thenceforth  without  liome  or 
touiiUy.  One  of  these  outcasts,  descriljing  his  lot,  said,  "It  was  the  hardest 
that  had  liappened  since  our  Saviour  was  upon  eartli."     The  story  is  true. 

Our  little  boat  worked  her  way  gallantly  back  to  Plymouth.  Though 
thoroughly  wet  with  the  Fpray  she  had  flung  from  her  bows,  I  was  not  ill- 
pleuscd  with  the  expedition.  Figuratively  speaking,  my  knapsack  was  pack- 
ed, my  stafl:'  and  wallet  waiting  my  grasp.  With  the  iron  horso  that  stood 
panting  at  the  door  I  made  in  two  hours  tlie  journey  that  Winthrop,  Endi- 
cott,  and  Winslow  took  two  days  to  accomplish.  Certainly  I  found  Plym- 
outh much  changed.  The  Pilgrims  would  hardly  recognize  it,  Xhougli  now, 
as  in  centuries  before  their  coming, 

"The  wiives  that  brought  them  o'er 
Still  roll  in  the  hay,  and  throw  their  sprny, 
As  they  break  along  the  shore." 


' Massachusetts  Archives." 


house  of  Captain 


rr^::'  ,i^ 


rUOVINCETOWN    FUOM   TIIK   HILLS. 


CIIAPTEIl  XIX. 

P  R  O  V  I  X  C  K  T  O  W  X . 

"A  mnn  may  stnnd  there  find  ])ut  all  Anioiica  lieliiml  liiin." — Tiioreau. 

\  S  it  was  already  dark  when  T  arrived  in  Troviiicctown,  T  saw  only  tiio 
-^^  glare  from  the  lantern  of  Ilis^liland  Liylit  in  passing  tlirough  Tniro,an(l 
the  gleaming  from  those  at  Long  Point  and  Wood  End,  before  the  train  drew 
np  at  the  station.  It  liaving  been  a  rather  busy  day  with  me  (I  had  embark- 
ed at  Nantucket  in  the  morning,  idled  away  a  few  hours  at  Vineyard  Haven, 
and  rested  as  many  at  Cohasset  Narrows),  it  will  be  easily  understood  why  I 
left  the  ii.vestigation  of  my  whereabouts  to  the  morrow.  JVIy  wants  were  at 
this  moment  reduced  to  a  bed,  a  pair  of  clean  sheets,  and  plenty  of  blankets; 
for  though  the  almanac  said  it  was  July  in  Provincetown,  the  night  breeze 
blowing  freshly  was  strongly  suggestive  of  November. 

It  was  Swift,  I  think,  who  said  he  never  knew  a  man  reach  eminence  wlio 
was  not  an  early  riser.  Doubtless  the  good  doctor  was  right.  IJnt,  then,  it' 
he  had  lodged  as  I  lodged,  and  had  risen  as  I  did,  two  mortal  hours  before 
breakfast-time,  lie  might  have  allowed  his  precept  to  liave  its  exce|)tions.  I 
devoted  these  hours  to  rambling  about  the  town. 

Though  not  move  than  half  a  hundred  miles  from  Boston,  as  the  crow 
flies,  Cape  Cod  is  regarded  as  a  sort  of  terra  incof/nita  by  fully  half  of  New 
England.  It  has  always  been  considered  a  good  place  to  emigrate  from, 
rather  than  as  oifering  inducements  for  its  young  men  and  women  to  re- 
main at  home;  though  no  class  of  New  Englanders,  I  should  add,  arc  more 
warmly  attached  to  the  place  of  their  lativity.  The  ride  throughout  the 
Cape  affords  the  most  impressive  example  of  the  tenacity  with  which  a  pop- 
ulation clings  to  locality  that  has  ever  come  under  my  observation.    To  one 


rUOVINC  KIOWN. 


805 


nc('iistoiiH'«l  t(i  llic  ll'itili'  shores  of  Xiin;iy!iiisi't  l>ay  or  tlii'  valley  of  llie  Coii- 
iicctieiit,  tlio  ivj^ion  between  Saiulwieli,  where  yon  enter  upon  tlie  Cape,  and 
Orleans,  wliorc  you  reach  the  bend  of  the  fore-arm,  is  bad  enougii,  thougii  no 
lU'sert.     IJeyond  this  is  simply  a  wilderness  of  sand. 

The  surfaco  of  the  eoiintry  about  lirewster  and  Orleans  is  roUiii<>;  prairie, 
barren,  yet  thinly  covered  with  an  appeaianeo  of  soil.  Stone  walls  divide  the 
ticlils,  l»ut  from  here  down  the  Cape  you  will  si'ldoni  see  a  stone  of  any  si/e  in 
<f(iiii"'  lliirtv  miles.  ]My  I'aith  in  Pilgrim  testiinonv  benan  to  din»inish  as  [ 
Idokdl  on  all  sides,  and  in  vain,  Ibr  a  "  spil's-deptli  of  excellent  black  earth," 
Midi  as  lliey  tell  of.  It  lir  ,  jterchance,  been  blown  away,  or  buried  out  of 
sijflit   ill   the   shii'lingH  corstautly   going  on   here.     Kasthain,  Welllleet,  and 


COil.i.e>bii r   NAUUUVVS. 


Truro  grow  more  and  more  forbidding,  as  you  a[)proach  the  Ultima  Thxdc^  or 
land's  end.' 

Mr.  'fhoreau,  who  has  embodied  the  results  of  several  excursions  to  the 
C'aiie  ill  some  a<linii'able  sketches,  calls  it  the  bared  and  beiuled  arm  of  INIassa- 
cliusetts.  ]\rr.  Kverett  had  already  used  the  same  figure.  To  me  it  looks  like 
a  skinny,  attenuated  arm  thrust  within  a  stocking  lor  mending — the  bony 
elbow  at  Chatham,  the  wrist  at  Truro,  and  the  lialf-closed  fingers  at  Prov- 
iiKi'town.  It  seems  qiute  down  at  the  heel  about  Orleans,  and  as  if  mucli 
(liuiiing  would  be  needed  to  make  it  as  good  as  new.  It  was  something  to 
conceive,  and  more  to  execute,  such  a  tramp  as  Thoreau's,  for  no  one  ought  to 


'  Tlii'ie  is  a  well-defined  line  of  demarkntion  between  tlie  almost  imiiiteniipted  rock  wall  of 
the  north  coast  and  the  sand,  which,  hegiiming  in  the  Old  Colony,  in  Scitiiate,  constitutes  Cape 
fi'il:  ;iiul.  if  we  consider  Nantucket,  Manila's  Viiipyaid,  and  Long-  Island  as  liaviii;^  at  some  pe- 
liinl  tunned  the  exterior  shores,  the  almost  unbroken  belt  of  sand  continues  to  Florida.  This  line 
IS  so  little  imaginary  that  it  is  plain  to  see  where  grinite  gives  place  to  sand ;  and  it  is  siiilicicntly 
curious  to  arrest  the  attention  even  of  the  unscientific  explorer. 

20 


306 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COxVST. 


attempt  it  who  can  not  riso  superior  to  liis  surrouiidiiigs,  aiul  shake  ofV  the 
gloom  the  weird  and  wide-spread  desolateiiess  of  the  landscape  inspires.  I 
would  as  lief  have  marched  with  Napolecn  froni  Acre,  by  Mount  Cannel, 
throusi'h  the  moving  sands  of  Tentoura. 

The  reseinbiance  of  the  Cape  to  a  hook  appears  to  have  struck  navigators 
quite  early.  On  oKl  Dutch  maps  it  is  delineated  with  tolei'able  accuracy,  ami 
named  "  Staaten  Iloeck,"  and  the  bay  inclosed  within  the  bend  of  it  "Staatoii 
Bay."  Massachusetts  Hay  is  "  Noord  Zee,"  and  Cape  Malabar  "  Vhicko 
Iloeck."  Clifford  Haven  appears  about  where  Easthani  is  now  located.  On 
the  earliest  map  of  Cliamplain  the  extremity  of  the  Cape  is  called  "C.  IJhiuc," 
or  the  White  Cape.'  blather  says  of  Cape  Cod,  he  supposes  it  will  never  lose 
the  name  "till  swarms  of  codfish  be  seen  swimming  on  the  highest  hills."' 

This  hook,  though  a  sandy  one,  cauglit  many  a  school  of  migratory  tisli, 
and  even  whales  found  themselves  often  embayed  in  the  bight  of  it,  on  their 
way  south,  until,  from  being  so  long  hunted  down,  they  learned  to  keep  ;i 
good  offing.     It  also  caught  all  the  southerly  drill  along  shore,  such  as  stray 


"•?^'^?^ 


iHr.TiT,;.Nn  ijgiit,  c\pe  cod. 


ships  from  F" ranee  and  England,  liartholotnew  Gosnold  and  John  Brerctoii 
were  the  first  white  men  to  land  on  it.  I)e  Monts,  Cliamplain,  l)e  I'ontriii- 
court,  Smith,  and  finally  the  Forefathers,  were  bi'ought  iip  and  turned  biu'k 
by  it. 

Bradford,  under  date  of  1G20,  writes  thus  in  his  journal :  "A  word  or  two 
by  y'  way  of  this  Cape  :  it  was  thus  first  named  (Cape  Cod)  by  Captain  Gos- 
nold and  his  company.  An":  1002,  and  after  by  Capten  Smith  was  caled  C:i|h' 
James;  but  it  retains  y'  former  name  amongst  sea-men.     Also  y'  pointe  wliitli 


'  "Lequel  nous  nommftmes  C.  Blanc  pour  cc  que  c'estoient  sables  et  (iinici<  qui  puroii^ser; 
ninsi." 


niOVlNCETOVVN, 


307 


John  r)rovcton 


A  word  or  two 


first  shewed  tliose  dangerous  shoulds  unto  tlicm,  they  called  Point  Care,  and 
Tucker's  Terrour ;'  but  y"  French  and  Dutch,  to  this  day,  call  it  jNIalabarr,  by 
reason  of  those  perilous  shoulds,  and  y"  losses  they  have  suffered  tht'i'." 

Notwithstanding  what  Uradlbrd  says,  the  name  ot'Mallebarre  is  affixed  to 
the  extreme  point  of  Cape  Cod  on  early  French  niai)s.  In  Smith's  "New  En- 
^iaml  "  is  the  followinu,'  (lescrij)tion  : 

"Cape  Cod  is  the  next  presents  itsclle,  which  is  onely  a  headland  of  liiu;!! 
hills  of  sand,  overgrowne  with  shrubbie  ])ines,  hurts,  and  such  trash,  but  an 
excellent  harbor  for  all  weathers.  The  Cape  is  made  by  ihc  nuiine  sea  on 
the  one  side  and  a  great  Hay  on  the  other,  in  forme  of  a  sickle;  on  it  doth 
inhabit  the  people  of  Pawmet;  and  in  the  bottome  of  the  Bay,  the  people  of 
C'li;i\viim.  Towards  the  south  and  soutli  west  of  this  Cape  is  found  a  long 
and  dangerous  shoale  of  sands  and  rocks.  IJut  so  farre  as  I  encircled  it,  I 
found  thirtie  fadom  water  aV)oard  the  shore  and  a  strong  current,  which  makes 
nu'e  thinke  thei'e  is  a  channel  about  this  Shoale,  where  is  the  best  and  great- 
est fish  to  be  had,  Winter  and  Summer,  in  all  that  Countrie.  But  the  Salvages 
say  there  is  no  channel,  but  that  the  shoales  beginne  from  the  maine  at  Paw- 
met  to  the  ile  of  Nausit,  and  so  extends  beyond  their  knowledge  into  the  sea." 

Tlie  historical  outcome  of  the  Caj)e  is  in  the  early  navigations,  and  in  the 
fact  that  Provincetown  was  the  haibor  entered  by  the  Forefathers.  The  first 
land  they  saw,  after  Devon  and  Cornwall  had  sunk  in  the  sea,  was  th'.s  sand- 
bar, for  it  is  nothing  else.  It  api)eai'ed  to  their  eager  eyes,  as  it  will  proba- 
bly never  again  be  seen,  wooded  down  to  the  shore.  Whales,  that  they  had 
not  the  means  of  taking,  disported  around  them.  They  dropped  anchor  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  shore,  and,  in  order  to  land,  were  forced  to  wade  a 
"bow  shoot,"  by  which  many  coughs  and  colds  were  caught,  and  a  founda- 
tion for  the  winter's  sickness  laid.  The  first  landing  was  probably  on  Long 
Point.  The  men  set  about  discovery ;  for  the  master  had  told  them,  with  a 
sailor's  biuntness,  he  would  be  rid  of  them  as  soon  as  possible.  The  women 
went  also  to  shore  to  wash,  thus  initiating  on  Monday,  November  -^ifd,  the 
great  Now  England  washing-day. 

Were  there  to  be  a  day  of  general  observance  in  New^  England  commem- 
Oiative  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  it  should  be  that  on  which  they  first 
set  foot  en  her  soil  at  Cape  Cod;  the  day,  too,  on  which  the  compact  was 
signed."  Whatever  of  sentiment  attached  to  the  event  should,  it  would  seem, 
be  consecrated  to  the  very  spot  their  feet  first  pressed.  There  is  yet  time  to 
rescue  the  day  from  unaccountable  and  unmerited  neglect. 

On  the  ntap  of  Cyprian  Southack  a  thoroughfare  is  delineated  from  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  to  the  ocean  at  Eastham,  near  Sandy  Point.     His  words  are: 


'  Niiniod  tiy  Cii]itniii  GostKild,  f)n  nrcoimt  of  the  exprossetl  fcnrs  of  one  of  liis  conipnny. 
"  IJfiiiK  tlie  ii^t  of  Noveiul)er,  it  would  full  (iiiite  neiir  to  the  day  usually  set  !i])iirt  for  Tlianks- 
RiviiiK  in  New  Englnnd,  which  is  merely  an      bitrury  observtince,  commemorative  of  no  piirticulur 

"I'CUITCIICU. 


308 


TIIH   NEW  ENGLAND   COAS  P. 


"The  place  wliere  I  came  through  with  a  whale-boat,  April  2Gth,  T717,  to  look 
after  Ijellaine  llie  pirate."  I  have  never  seen  this  iiiaii,  which  Douglass  pio- 
nouiiees  "a  false  and  pernicious  sea-ehai't." 

From  its  barring  their  farther  progress,  Cape  Cod  was  well  known  to  tlio 
discoverers  of  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  According  to  Les- 
carbot,  Poutriucourt  spent  fifteen  days  in  a  port  on  the  south  side,  it  had 
been  lonnally  taken  possession  of  in  the  name  of  the  French  king.  The  liist 
conflict  between  the  whites  an<l  natives  occurred  there;  and  in  its  sanils  were 
interred  the  remains  of  the  first  Ciirislian  wiio  died  witliin  the  ancient  limits 
of  Xew  England.' 

Tiie  assault  of  the  natives  on  De  Pontrincourt  is  believed  to  have  occiu- 
red  at  Chatham,  ironically  nameil  by  the  French  Port  Fortune,  in  reiiiciii- 
brance  of  their  mishaps  there.  It  was  the  very  first  collision  recordeil  W- 
tweeu  Euro^jcans  and  savages  in  New  England.  Five  of  De  Poutrincoiul's 
men  having  slept  on  shore  coiitrary  to  orders,  and  without  keeping  any 
watch,  the  Indians  fell  on  them  at  day-break,  October  I5lh,  IGOG,  killing  two 
outright.  The  rest,  who  were  shot  through  and  thi'ough  with  arrows,  1:111 
down  to  the  shore,  crying  out,  "Help!  they  are  murdering  us  I"  the  savages 
pursuing  with  frightful  whoopings, 

Ili'aring  these  out('ries  and  the  api)cal  for  help,  the  sentinel  on  board  the 
bark  gave  the  alarm:  "Aux  armes!  they  are  killing  our  people!"  Poiistd 
by  the  signal,  those  on  board  seized  their  arms,  and  ran  on  deck,  without 
takinijr  time  to  dress  themselves.  Fifteen  or  sixteen  threw  themselves  into 
the  shallop,  without  stopping  to  light  their  matches,  and  j)ushed  for  the  slioiv. 
Finding  they  could  not  reach  it  on  account  of  an  intervening  sand-bank,  tliov 
leaped  into  the  water  and  wailed  a  musket-shot  to  land.  De  Pontrincourt, 
Champlain,  Daniel  Hay,  Ilobert  (irrave  the  younger,  son  of  Du  Pont  tiravc, 
and  the  younger  Pontrincourt,  with  their  trnnipeter  and  apothecary,  wore  of 
the  party  that  rushed  pell-mell,  almost  stark  naked,  upon  the  savages. 

The  Indians,  perceiving  the  rescuing  band  within  a  bow-shot  of  them,  took 
to  flight.  It  was  idle  to  pursue  those  nimble-footed  savages;  so  the  {•"iviiili- 
men  brought  their  dead  companions  to  the  foot  of  the  cross  they  had  ercctotl 
on  the  ])receding  day,  and  there  bnried  them.  AVhile  chanting  the  funeral 
])rayers  and  orisons  of  the  Church,  the  natives,  from  a  safe  distance,  slinutcil 
derisively  and  danced  to  celebrate  their  treason.  After  their  funeral  rites 
were  ended  the  French  voyagers  silently  returned  on  board. 

In  a  few  hours,  the  tide  being  so  low  as  to  prevent  the  whites  from  lanil- 
ing,  the  natives  again  appeared  on  the  shore.  They  threw  down  thi'  cross, 
disinterred  the  bodies  of  the  slain  Frenchmen,  and  stripped  thein  before  the 
eyes  of  their  exasperated  comrades.     Several  shots  were  fired  at  them  from 


'  One  of  De  Monts's  men  ("?<n  charpentirr  Mafoin")  wns  killed  here  in  IGOS  hy  llie  iiaiivcs. 
In  attempting  to  recover  a  kettle  one  of  them  Imd  stolen,  lie  \vas  transfixed  with  arrows. 


rnoviNCi-yrowx. 


309 


have  occiir- 


tlie  bronze  gun  on  board,  the  natives  at  every  discharge  throwing  themselves 
flat  on  their  faces.  As  soon  as  tlie  Frencli  could  hind,  they  again  set  up  the 
cross,  and  reintcrred  the  dead.  The  natives,  for  the  second  time,  tied  to  a  dis- 
taiK't'.' 

I'rovineetown  was  oritiinally  part  ofTruro.  Its  etymology  explains  that 
its  tei-ritoi'y  belonged  to  tiie  jtrovinco  of  3Iassacluisetts.  The  earliest  inhab- 
iliuils  had  no  other  title  than  possession,  and  their  conveyance  is  by  (juit- 
olaiii'..  For  many  years  tiie  place  experienced  the  alternations  of  thiil't  and 
decay,  being  at  tinu'S  well-nigh  deserted.  In  1749,  says  Douglass,  in  his 
"Summary,"  the  town  consi-<ted  of  only  two  or  three  settled  families,  two  or 
three  cows,  and  six  to  ten  sheep.  The  houses  ibrmerly  stood  in  one  range, 
without  regularity,  along  the  beach,  with  the  drying- Hakes  around  them. 


^^m^MM 


WASUINU    FISU. 

Fishing  vessels  were  run  upon  the  soft  sand,  and  their  cargoes  thrown  into 
:ho  water,  where,  after  being  washed  free  from  salt,  the  fish  were  taken  up 
ami  oairied  to  the  flakes  in  Iniml -barrows.  Cape  Cod  Harbor,  by  which 
iiniuu  it  is  also  familiar  to  the  readers  of  Pilgrim  chronicles,  was  the  earliest 
iKuiu'  of  Provincetown. 

The  place  has  now  lost  the  peculiar  character  it  owed  to  tlie  windmills  on 


'  T,os<'ftrhot  adds  tlmt  tlio  natives,  turiiiiif];  tlicir  backs  to  the  vossi-l.  tlircw  the  sand  with  both 
Imnds  toward  tliem  tVoin  bctweoii  their  buttoeivs,  in  derision,  yelling  liiie  wolves. 


310 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


the  sandy  heights  above  the  town  and  the  salt-works  on  tlie  hoacli  before  it. 
The  streets,  described  by  former  writers  as  impassable,  by  reason  of  the  deep 
sand,  I  found  no  diHiculty  in  traversing.  What  with  aji  admixture  of  clav 
and  a  top-dressing  of  oyster-shells  and  pebble,  brought  from  a  distance,  tlicv 
have  managed  to  make  their  principal  thorougliiares  solid  enough.  Sttp 
aside  from  these,  if  you  would  know  what  Provincetown  was  like  in  the 
past. 

If  the  streets  were  better  than  I  had  thought,  the  liouses  were  far  hot- 
ter. Tile  great  number  of  them  were  of  wood,  looking  as  most  New  En- 
gland houses  look — ready  for  the  torch.  They  usually  had  underpiimings  of 
brick,  ins,tead  of  being,  as  formerly,  built  on  posts,  in  order  that  the  sand  luiglit 
blow  underneath  them.  There  were  willows,  poplars,  locusts,  and  balm  of 
Gilead,  standing  about  in  odd  corners,  and  of  good  size.  I  saw  a  few  sickly 
fruit-trees  that  appeared  dying  ior  l:»ck  of  moist ui-e  ;  and  some  enterprising 
citizens  were  able  to  nndie  a  show  of  lilacs,  syringas,  pinks,  and  geraniuius  in 
their  front  yards.  I  talked  with  them,  Mid  saw  that  tiie  unremitting  struggle 
for  life  that  attended  the  growth  of  these  few  siini)le  flowers  seemed  to  increase 
their  lovt  ''n'  them,  ami  enlarge  their  feeling  for  what  was  beautiful.  All 
the  earth  they  have  is  imported.  I  called  to  iniud  those  Spanish  vineyards, 
where  the  peasant  carries  a  hamjier  of  soil  up  the  sunny  sIojjcs  of  the  mount- 
ain-sides, and  in  some  crevice  of  the  rocks  plants  his  vine. 

There  are  two  ])rincipal  streets  in  I'roviiicetown.  One  of,  I  should  iinag- 
ine,  more  than  a  mile  in  length,  runs  along  the  liaibor;  the  other  follows  an 
elevated  ridge  of  tlie  sand-hills,  :ind  is  parallel  with  the  first.  A  plank-walk 
is  laid  on  one  side  of  the  avenue  by  the  shore,  the  other  side  being  occujiieil 
by  stores,  tish-houses,  and  wharves.  No  sinister  meaning  is  attached  to  walk- 
ing the  plank  in  J*rovincetown  ;  for  what  is  the  whole  Cape  if  not  a  gang- 
plank pushed  out  over  the  side  of  the  continent? 

Where  the  street  on  the  ridge  is  carried  across  gaps  among  the  hills,  tlie 
retaining  walls  were  of  bog-peat,  which  was  also  laid  on  the  sides  of  tliose 
hills  exposed  to  the  force  of  the  wind.  Whortleberry,  bayberry,  and  wild 
rose  were  growing  out  of  the  interstices.  They  flourish  as  well  as  when  tlie 
Pilgrims  were  here,  though  all  the  ])rimitive  forest  disappeared  long  ago.  I 
ascended  the  hill  on  which  the  town-hall  building  stands.  You  must  go  up 
the  town  road,  or  break  the  law,  as  I  saw,  by  the  straggling  foot])atlis,  the 
young.^ters  were  in  the  habit  of  doing,  liead  sand  for  scoria',  and  the  fate  of 
llerculaneiim  seems  impending  over  Provincetown.  The  safeguards  taken  to 
prevent  tlie  hills  blowing  down  upon  it  impresses  the  stranger  with  a  sense 
of  insecurity,  though  the  inhabitants  do  not  seem  much  to  mind  it.  I  liave 
heard  that  in  exposed  situations  on  the  Cape  window-glass  becomes  opacpie 
by  reason  of  the  frequent  sand-blasts  rattling  against  the  panes. 

On  the  hill  was  formerly  a  windmill,  having  the  flyers  inside,  so  i-eseni- 
bling,  say  the  town  annalists,  a  lolty  tower.     It  was  a  famous  landmark  for 


rilOVIXCKTOWN. 


311 


vessels  making  the  port.     Tho  cliart-niakcM-s  liave  now  replaced  it  with  the 
town  hall,  and  every  mariner  steering  for  Piovincetown  lias  an  eye  to  it. 

The  harbor  is  completely  land-locked.  There  is  good  anchorage  for  ves- 
Hcls  of  the  largest  class.  Ofttimes  it  is  crowded  with  shipping  seeking  a  ha- 
ven of  refuge.  This  morning  there  were  perhajts  fitly  sail,  of  every  kind  of 
craft.  An  inward-bound  vessel  must  steer  around  every  point  of  the  compass 
before  the  anchor  is  let  go  in  safety.  In  the  If  evolution  the  port  was  made 
use  of  by  the  British  squadrons,  to  refit,  and  i)ro  .ire  water.'  The  tide  flows 
on  the  bay  side  of  the  Cape  about  twenty  feet,  while  at  the  back  of  it  there 
is  a  tlow  of  only  five  or  six  feet. 

The  town  is  of  extreme  length,  compared  with  its  breadth,  being  con- 
tnu'ted  between  the  range  of  high  sand-'.iills  behind  it  and  the  beach.  It  lies 
fronting  the  south-east,  bordering  the  curve  of  the  shore,  which  sweeps  grand- 
ly around  half  the  circumference  of  a  circle  on  the  bay  side.  In  one  direction 
extends  the  long  line  of  shore.  If  JJoston  be  your  starting-point,  you  must 
travel  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  get  flfty;  and,  by  the  time  you  arrive 
at  tlie  extremity  of  the  Cape,  shoidd  be  able  to  box  the  compass.  Looking 
soiitli,  Long  Point  terminates  the  land  view.  Following  with  the  eye  the 
outline  of  the  hook,  it  rests  an  insiant  on  the  shaft  of  the  light-house  at 
Wood  End,  the  extreme  southerly  point  of  the  Cape.  Thence  the  coast  trends 
iioitli-west  as  far  as  Kace  Point,  which  is  shut  out  from  view  by  intervening 
hills.  Kace  Point  is  tiie  outermost  land  of  the  Cape.  All  these  names  are 
well  known  to  mariners,  the  world  ovei". 

The  shores  are  bordered  with  dangerous  bars  and  shallows.  As  shipping 
could  not  get  up  to  the  town,  tho  town  has  gone  off  to  it,  in  the  shape  of  a 
wlunf  of  great  length.  Our  Pilgrim  ancestors  had  to  wade  a  "bow  shoot" 
to  get  on  dry  land.  A  resident  tohl  me  that  with  fishing-boots  on  I  could 
cross  to  the  liead  of  Herring  Cove  at  low  tide.  Assuredly,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  of  havens,  and  little  likely  to  be  dispensed  with,  even  if  the 

vexed  cpiestion  of 

•'A  way  for  sliips  to  slia])e, 
Instead  of  wimliiif;  rouml  tlie  Cape 
A  short-cut  tlirougli  the  collar" 

be  answered  by  a  ship-canal  from  Barnstable  to  Buzzard's  Bay.' 

On  the  summit  of  Town  Hill  you  are  almost  astride  the  Capo,  having  the 
Atlantic  on  one  side,  and  IM.assachusetts  Bay  in  full  view  on  the  other.  Tiie 
Iiort  is  not  what  it  was  when  some  storm-tossed  bark,  in  accepting  its  shel- 
ter, was  the  town  talk  for  months.     Ships  come  and  go  by  scores  and  liun- 


'  Ilulibard  relates  a  terrific  storm  here.  See  "New  England,"  j).  (Ui.  In  181,'?  tliore  was  a 
iiaviil  I'Mfrngeinent  at  Provincetown. 

"  (Ii'ucr.d  Knox  wiis  interested  in  tiiis  project.  Lemuel  Cox,  the  celel)ratcd  bridge  architect, 
was  engiiged  in  cuuiug  it. 


SI  J 


TlIK   Xi:\V  KN(iLANl)   COAST. 


(Irc'tls,  folding  tlit'ir  viiigs  and  settling  down  on  the  water  iike  weary  sia- 
gnlls. 

With  an  outward  apitearance  of  j)ros])erity,  T  fonnd  the  people  henioaiiinnr 
the  hai'd  times.  Taxes,  they  said,  were  twenty  dolhiis  in  llie  tliousand,  and 
oidy  ten  at  Warclnun ;  fisli  were  scarce,  and  jirices  low,  too,  thoigh  as  to 
the  last  item  consumers  tliink  otherwise.  Tlie  tisheiineii  I  saw  were  biiily, 
athletic  fellows,  apparently  not  more  tlirifty  than  tlu'ir  class  everywhere. 
They  arc  averse  to  doing  any  thing  else  than  fish,  and,  if  the  times  are  bad, 
are  content  to  potter  about  their  boats  and  lishing-gear  till  better  days, 
mueli  as  they  would  wait  for  wind  and  tide.  If  tliey  can  not  go  tislnng  they 
luid  as  lief  do  nothing,  though  want  threatens. 

The  boys  take  to  the  water  by  instinct.  I  saw  one  adrift  in  a  boat  with- 
out oars,  making  his  way  to  laiul  by  tilting  the  side  of  the  dory.  They  go  to 
the  iishing-banks  with  their  lathers,  and  can  hand,  reef,  and  steer  witii  an  old 
salt.  One  trav(der  tells  of  a  Provincetowii  cow-boy  who  captured  and  killed 
a  blacktish  he  descried  near  the  shore.  As  soon  as  they  had  strengtli  to  pull 
in  a  fish,  they  were  ))Ut  on  board  a  boat. 

I  noticed  the  familiar  names  that  have  been  trans])lanted  and  thriven  ev- 
erywhere. Tliose  of  Atwood,  Nickerson,  Newcomb,  Rich,  Kyder,  Snow,  and 
Doane  liave  the  Cape  ring  about  them.  In  general  they  are  "likely"  men, 
as  ttho  phrase  here  is,  getting  on  as  might  be  exjiected  of  a  ])eople  who  liter- 
ally cast  tlicir  bread  upon  the  waters,  and  live  on  a  naked  crust  of  earth  that 
the  sea  is  forever  gnawing  and  growling  at.  The  girls  are  pretty.  I  say  il 
on  the  authority  of  an  expert  in  such  matters  who  acconipanied  me.  Not  all 
are  sandy-haired. 

There  is  a  strong  dasli  of  humor  about  these  pcojilo.  They  are  piipiant 
Capers,  dry  and  sharp  as  the  sand.  One  of  them  was  relating  that  he  had 
once  watched  for  so  long  a  time  that  lie  tinally  fell  asleep  while  crossing  tlio 
street  to  his  boarding-house,  and  on  going  to  bed  had  not  waked  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  "Wa'al,"  said  an  old  fellow,  removing  a  sliort  pipe  from  between 
las  lips,  "you  was  jest  a-cannin'  on  it  up,  warn't  ye?" 

Tliere  is  quite  a  colony  of  Portuguese  in  Provincetown.  In  my  rambles 
I  met  with  a  band  of  them  returning  from  the  swamp  region  back  of  the 
town.  They  looked  gypsy-like  with  tiieir  swartiiy  faces  and  gleaming  eyes. 
The  younger  women  had  clear  olive  complexions,  black  eyes,  and  the  elon- 
gated iMadonna  faces  of  their  race;  the  older  ones  were  grisly  and  witch-liko, 
with  shriveled  bodies  and  wrinkled  faces.  All  of  them  bore  bundles  of  l'a;j;- 
ots  on  tlieir  heads  tliat  our  tender  women  would  have  sunk  under,  yet  they 
did  not  seem  in  the  least  to  mind  them.  They  chattered  merrily  as  thoy 
passed  by  me,  and  I  watched  tliem  until  out  of  sight;  for,  picturesque  objects 
anywhere,  here  they  were  doubly  so.  They  hail  all  gaudy  liandkerchiefs 
tied  about  their  heads,  and  shawls  worn  sash-wise,  and  knotted  at  the  hip,  the 
bright  bits  of  warm  color  contrasting  kindly  with  tlie  dead  wlute  of  tlie  saud. 


rUOVIXCE'l'OAVN'. 


313 


TluM'o  were  shapely  figures  among  tlicni,  but  tlio  men's  boots  tliey  of  iiecessi- 
tv  wore  subtracted  a  little  iVoin  the  symmetry  of  outline  and  my  admiration. 
Tiiey  iium\)er  about  titty  I'amilies — these  Portuguese — and  are  increasing. 
One  Viti/.en  expressed  a  vague  ajiprehension  lest  they  sliould  exclude,  eveiit- 
u.'illy,  the  whites,  as  the  wliites  had  expelled  the  Indians.  i\nd  why  not? 
TIr'v  bi'lieve  in  large  families,  while  we  believe  in  small  ones  or  none  at  all. 
The  Pilgrims  were  fewer  lliaii  they  when  they  came  to  Cape  Cod,  though 
tlicy  (li<l  believe  in  large  I'amilies.  ]>esides,  (iaspard  Cortereal,  a  "Portin- 
gak',"  fell  in  with  the  land  liereabouts  beU)re  any  of  our  English.  The  Portu- 
i^iiese  arc  repoiled  to  have  stocked  Sable  Island  with  domestic  animals  thii'- 
ty  years  before  Gilbert's  coining  to  Newfoundland.'  Assuredly,  Cortereal 
liad  as  good  a  mortgage  on  the  country  as  Cabot,  who  did  not  land,  but  only 
beheld  it  in  sail- 


111'. 


)V. 


11)1111(1 


tl 


1    had 
10    town 


cncrvescen 


1.: 


t.  The 
ling  of  a  Portu- 
Liiu'so  by  his  cap- 
tain, ill  a  quarrel 
(111  board  a  fish- 
ing vessel,  had  set 
the   whole    town 


alk 


iiiir. 


omiiiLr 


I  I'll 


in     the      citv, 


MACKi;UKI.. 


A   lAMlLY   GUOUl*. 


uliiM'c  we  aver- 
iiLiC  a  murder  a 
week,!  was  quite 
startled  at  the 
measure  of  hor- 
riir  and  indigna- 
tion the  deed  ex- 
I'iteil  here.      8ub- 

secjiieiitly  I  learned  tliat  such  crimes  were  rare,  and  that  in  this  out-of-the-way 
foriicr  of  the  land  people  had  (piite  old-fashioned  notions  about  the  value  of 
hiimaii  life  and  limb. 

The  cod  and  mackerel  fislieries  have  been  the  tnaking  of  Provincetown, 
tlKiiii,rli  they  complained  of  dull  times  when  I  was  there,  the  fleet  not  number- 
iiii;  more  than  fifty  or  sixty  sail.  Some  schooners  go  whaling  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  Western  Islands,  or  far  up  tlie  north  coast;  but  the  fares  tliere  are 
poor,  they  say,  and  growi:ig  ])oorer.  The  first  mackerel  exhibited  in  the 
spring  in  Boston  market  are  taken  in  Provincetown  Harbor. 


'  Clianij)laiii  t'onfiiins  this. 


• 


i' 


814 


Till':  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


Fonncr  travelers  liave  oLservetl  that  tlic  art  as  well  as  the  name  of  Imv- 
malviii!^  was  applied  to  the  curiiij^  of  the  ^od  here,  the  lish,  when  made,  Ik  iii'^ 
stacked  in  the  same  manner.  Cattle  are  reported  to  have  sometimes  eaten 
them  in  lieu  of  salt  hay.  When  the  tishini^  season  was  at  its  height,  it  imist 
have  been  somethim:;  to  have  seen — the  length  and  breadth  of  the  town  ovci- 
spreail  with  cod-tish,  oeeupyimi"  the  front  yards  and  intervals  between  tliu 
houses.  A  goodwife  then,  instead  of  goin<^  to  the  garden  for  vegetahlos, 
would  bring  in  a  cod-fish  from  llie  Hakes.     Tiien  the  hook  was  well  baited. 

I  suppose  the  phrase  "eod-Hsli  aristocracy"  did  not  originate  on  the  t'a|i(', 
but  may  have  a  more  ancient  beginning  than  is  generally  believed,  as  tli(' 
Dutch  were,  in  the  year  1347,  engaged  in  a  civil  war  which  lasted  uiuiiv 
years,  the  rival  parties  being  called  "Hooks"  and  "Cod-fish,"  respectively. 
The  former  supported  Margaret,  Countess  of  Holland  ;  the  latter,  Williuiii, 
her  son. 

Ch:impl;un  relates  that  the  Indians,  in  this  bay,  fished  for  cod  witli  lines 
made  of  bark,  to  which  a  bone  lu)ok  Mas  attached,  the  bon(>  being  i'asliiunod 
like  a  harpoon,  and  fastened  to  a  piece  of  wood  with  what  he  believed  to  be 
hemp,  such  as  they  had  in  France.  Bass,  blue-fish,  and  sturgeon  were  taken 
by  spearing. 

A  fish  dinner  is  eaten  at  least  once  a  week  by  (>very  family  in  Xew  En- 
glan<l.  In  Catholic  countries  the  supply  of  dried  fish  is  usimlly  exhausted  hy 
the  end  of  Lent,  AVe  have  seen  that  IJradtbrd  receive<l  a  Jesuit  at  his  own 
table,  and  regaled  him  with  a  fish  dinner  because  it  was  Friday,  a  piece  of 
old-time  courtesy  some  would  have  us  think  the  Pilgrims  incapable  of.  Sonie- 
Avhat  later  they  had  a  law  in  ^lassachusetts  banishing  Jesuits  or  other  Ilomaii 
Catholic  ecclesiastics  out  of  their  jurisdiction  on  ])ain  of  death. 

In  effect,  the  cod-fish  is  to  Xew  England  what  roast  beef  is  to  old  Albion. 
The  likeness  of  o-.e  is  hanging  in  the  State-liouse  at  Boston,  as  the  symbol  of 
a  leading  ^Massachusetts  industry,  Down  East  the  g'  Is  carry  bits  of  it  in  tlieir 
pockets,  and  it  is  set  on  the  bar-room  counters  for  luncheon.  A  Yankee  can 
fatten  on  it  where  an  Englishman  would  starve.  The  statement  is  fortitieil 
by  what  we  call  the  truth  of  history. 

In  1714  her  ]Majesty  of  England  concluded  a  peace  with  her  restless  neigh- 
bor acrofi  the  Channel ;  or,  as  Pope  rhymes  it, 

"At  length  grent  Anna  snul,  'Let  discord  cease;' 
She  siiid,  tlie  world  obey'd,  and  all  >vas  jieace." 

This  was  the  famous  treaty  that  Matthew  Prior,  the  negotiator- poet,  calls 
"  the  d — d  Peace  of  rtrecht."  Prior  went  to  Paris  with  IJolingbroke.  Hav- 
ing arrived  there  during  Lent,  he  was,  by  an  edict,  permitted  to  have  roast 
beef  as  a  mark  of  royal  favor,  and  on,  I  presume,  his  own  application,  I  I'cs- 
cue  this  morceau  from  the  abyss  of  state  archives: 

"Nous  Baron  de  Breteuil  et  de  Preuilly,  premier  Baron  de  Touraine,  Con' 


I'llOVIXCKTOWN. 


ni; 


dii  Ivoy  en  sos  Coiiscils, Tiitroductour  iles  Ambassadcurs  el  I'liiicos  Etraiiiii'iLs 
pics  do  Sii  3lii"";  Enjoignoiis  iui  lioucher  do  I'llotel  de  Dieii  di;  tuuniir  ])t'ii- 
(liuit  Ic  CiiR'iuo  au  prix  ordinaire,  Kiiivant  I'ordre  du  Koy,  loutu  la  viaiidc  de 
Hoiiclicrit',  ft  IJolisserit'  qui  sera  iiecessairo  pour  la  siibsistaiice  de  la  niaison 
(le  |iI(iii|i()teiiliaii'o  de  la  Keyiie  de  la  (iraiide  IJrelaniie,  iNl,  I'rior.'" 

Il'llie  yreat  staple  of  New  Kiiiflaiid  is  so  firmly  associated  with  tlie  C^a])o, 
its  claims  in  another  direction  deserve  also  to  be  remembered.  The  wiiale- 
lishcry  of  New  Enjxland  had  its  beginning;  here.  The  hook  caii<:;ht  those 
leviathans  as  the  Penobscot  weirs  catch  salmon.  It  was  lon<^  afterward  that 
Xanliicket  bristled  with  harpoons.  That  sea-i;irt  isle  borrowed  her  art  of 
till'  C'lipe,  and  induced  a  pi'oiessor  in  whale-craft,  Ichabod  Paddock  by  name, 
to  come  over  and  teach  it  to  hei'.  The  Pilgrims  wi>yld  have  beifun  on  the 
iiistai)i,  Init  they  had  not  the  gear.  The  Indians  I'ollowed  it  in  their  primi- 
tive w.iy,  and  the  exploring  parties  saw  them  sti'ippiiig  blubber  from  a  strand- 
id  l)l;ickfish  exactly  as  now  ]>racticed. 


•  restless  noigli- 


I'OM)    VILLAGE,  CAPE  COD. 

Dining  tlie  years  the  whales  swam  along  the  shore  by  Cape  Cod  tliere 
was  good  fishing  in  boats.  AV^atchmen  stationed  on  the  hills  gave  notice  by 
signals  when  one  was  in  sight.  After  some  time  tliey  passed  fartlier  off  on 
the  hanks,  and  sloops  carrying  wliale-boats  were  used.  Cotton  ^NFather  refers 
to  the  hsliery  here.  Douglass  notes  a  whale  struck  on  the  back  of  Cape  Cod 
that  yielded  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  barrels  of  oil.  In  1739  six  small 
whales  were  taken  in  Provincetown  Harbor.  In  1746  not  more  tlian  three 
oifdiir  whales  were  taken  on  the  Cape. 

The  first  whaling  adventure  to  tlie  Falkland  Islands  is  referred  to  the 


Touraine,  Con' 


'  I'ridr  was  pevsonnlly  acccptiible  to  Louis  XIV.,  wlio  gave  him  a  diamond  box  with  his  por- 
trait,   lie  was  also  well  known  to  Boilcau. 


:iin 


TIIK    NKW   KNCLAM)  (OAST. 


cnUM-priso  of  two  iiiliabitiuits  of  Triiro,  who  vc'ceivt'il  llic  liiiit  fioiii  Atlniinil 
Moiitiinut',  of  the  British  n:ivv,  in  1774.' 

This  iuiiniral,  commonly  ('ailed  ".Mail  Moiitatim,'"  was  a  character.  Tlicrc 
is  an  anccihjle  of  his  causing;  his  coxswain  to  i)Ut  the  hands  of  some  drowned 
Dntch  sailors  in  tlieir  pockets,  and  then  bettinijf  fifty  !>iiineas  to  live  they  died 
thus.  The  only  reminiscence  of  whalin<j;  that  I  saw  in  I'ro\  incelown  was  a 
gate-way  formed  of  the  ribs  of  a  whale  Ixd'ore  tlu'  door  of  a  colta<;e.  Over 
the  house-(U)or  was  a  gilded  eagle,  of  wood,  that  had  decorated  some  luckless 
eraft.  At  tlu-  tavern  the  door  was  kept  ajar  by  a  cui'iously  carved  whale's 
tooth  wedged  underneath.  .My  landlord,  grayhaireil,  but  still  straight  and 
sinewy,  remarked,  as  he  saw  me  examining  it,  "  I  struck  tliat  fellow." 

])Ut  what  I  came  to  see  here  was  tlie  desert,  and  I  luul  not  yet  scoii  it, 
Turning  my  back  ujion  tlie  town,  I  set  out  for  Uaee  Point,  three  miles  (hs- 
tant.  Tile  last  house  I  passed  —  and  this  was  a  slaughter-house  —  had  the 
sign-board  of  a  ship,  the  P/i/moiith  Itork,  nailed  above  the  lintel.  For  a 
certain  distance  tin'  path  was  easy  to  follow;  it  then  became  obscure,  :uid  I 
finally  lost  it  altogether;  but  the  sea  on  tlie  Atlantic  side  was  always  roaring 
a  lioarse  lialloo. 

It  was  never  before  my  fortune  to  tliread  so  curious  and  at  tlie  same  time 
so  desolate  a  way  as  this.  It  tilled  up  the  pictures  of  my  reading  of  tlio 
coasts  of  Barbary  or  of  Lower  Egypt.  I  first  crossed  a  range  of  saiid-liills 
thinly  grown  with  beach-plum,  whortleberry,  brake,  and  sheep  laurel,  or  wild 
rhododendron. "  Now  and  then  there  was  a  grove  of  stunted  jiitch-piues  on 
the  liill-sides,  and  \\\)Q\\  descending  I  found  the  hollows  occupied  by  swamps 
more  or  less  extensive,  where  the  growth  was  denser  and  the  stagnant  water 
dotted  with  wliite  blossoming  lilies.  There  were  also  clumps  of  the  fra- 
grant white  laurel  in  I'uU  bloom.  In  such  places  the  bushes  grew  thickly, 
and  I  had  to  force  my  way  through  them. 

The  largest  of  these  sunken  j)onds  is  named  Shank  Painter.  Seeing  wliiit 
a  share  they  have  in  preserving  Provincetown,  I  shall  always  respect  a  hoii'  or 
a  morass.  Over  on  the  shore,  between  Pace  Point  and  Wood  End,  they  have 
Shaidc  Painter  Bar.  Here  and  there  in  the  swamp  were  clearings  of  an  acre 
or  two  planted  with  cranberry-vines,  which  yield  a  handsome  return.  If  was 
blossoming-time,  and  the  ground  was  starred  with  their  delicate  white  flow- 
ers, having  the  corolla  rolled  back,  as  seen  in  the  tiger-lily.  I  found  ripe  blue- 
berries growing  close  to  the  sand,  and  wild  strawberries,  of  excellent  flavor, 
on  the  borders  of  cranberry  meadows.  An  account  says,  cows  might  once  he 
seen  "  wading,  and  even  swimming,  in  these  ponds,  plunging  their  heads  into 
the  water  up  to  their  horns,  picking  up  a  scanty  subsistence  from  the  roots 


'  Ciiptain  David  Smith  ami  Captain  Gamaliel  Collins. 

"  In  old  times  a  decoction  of  ciieukevbeny  leaves  was  given  to  lambs  poisoned  by  eating  tlie 
young  leaves  of  the  laurel  in  spring. 


rUOVINCETOWN, 


317 


from  AdiniiMl 
ractcr.     'I'licic 

SOUR'  (ll'DU  llcil 

livo  tlic'V  ilic(l 
K-elowii  was  a 
roUiiye.     OvLT 

I  SDiiU'  luckless 
i';irvc(l  \vliaU''s 

II  Htrai^hl  uiul 

L-IIOW." 

lot  yot  soon  it. 

liive  inilos  (lis- 

[)iise  —  li!i(l  llie 
lintel.  i''or  :i 
obsctiro,  ami  I 

ahvavs  roariu'' 

.  the  same  lime 

roadiiin"  of  the 

H'e  of  saiid-liills 

)  laurol,  or  wild 

])itcdi-iiiiios  on 

i('(l  by  swamps 

stajjjiiant  water 

lips  (d'  the  Ira- 

grow  thickly, 

.  Sooiiio:  wlint 
:'S])OC't  a  hon'  or 
Kiid,  thi'y  have 
iiin-s  of  an  acre 
rotiini.  It  was 
itc  whilo  flow- 

luul  ripo  hhie- 
xccdlont  llavor, 

iiiioht  oiK'o  he 
ludr  lioads  into 
from  the  roots 


and  herbs  prodnccd  in  tlu'  water."  I  haw  bireh,  maple,  and  :i  few  other  fores^t 
trees  of  stinted  urowth  in  the  swamp,  .and  stnnips  of  very  har^c  pines  that 
|i;id  Ikcii,  perliaps,  m.aiiy  limes  eoverid  :ind  iiiicovercd  by  sand.' 

(  lanberry  eiiltnre,  already  brielly  alluded  to,  has  beeome  :in  im])ortant  In- 
(histiy  on  Cape  Cod.  It  is  ]de:isant  to  see  the  )»i(dvers  busily  yatherini^  the 
I'liiit  Inr  market,  a  Labor  performed  almost  wholly  by  femah's.  An  instru- 
iiieiii  calleil  a  craidierry-rake  was  formerly  used;  but  as  it  bruised  the  fruit,  it 
liMS  heeii  disearded  for  liaiiil-pi(d<in;j^.  \'ery  little  oiitlay  is  neeess.ary  in  the 
lireparation   of  a  eianberry-betl,  and  nnudi  hss  laiior  than  is  usual  with  ordi- 


.v-l 


msmr^m^:^*'^-'' 


I'UKINO    AM)   SOKTINU   CltAMtiatKIIi.S— CAI'E   COD. 

iiiU'v  farm  crops,  while  the  return  is  much  !X''i'ater.  Here  the  visitor  is  astou- 
islied  at  seeini^  the  vine  producing  abundantly  in  what  appears  to  be  ])ure 
white  sand.  These  cranberry  plantations  are  very  ]»roiitable.  Ca])tain  Henry 
Ihill,  of  IJarnstable,  was  one  of  the  earliest  cultivators  on  the  Cape. 

Though  it  was  raw  and  windy  the  marsh-flies  bit  shrewdly.  After  pass- 
ing over  the  first  liills  beyond  Shank  Painter,  a  very  different  scene  present- 
e.l  itsoli".  Ilore  was  a  stretch  of  lofty  mounds  of  clean  white  sand,  five  miles 
in  length  and  a  mile  and  a  lialf  in  breadth,  bare  of  all  vegetation,  except 
seanly  patches  of  beach  grass.     There  was  no  longer  a  path,  and  thongli  I 


oncd  by  eating  tlic 


Therj  is  nn  iiuthentic  nccount  of  ice  being  found  here  on  the  4th  of  July,  1741. 


niH 


TIIH    NKW   I:N(JLAM)   Ci)AST. 


^ 


saw  ofcasioiial  foot-])riiits,  I  did  not  incit  any  ont'.     A  oarriaga  would  lie  of 
no  use  where  a  liorsr   W(»idd  sink  to  liis  knees  in  llio  sand.     It  was  K(|ii!ilily 

I^ane,  wlicii'   |i,iu. 
_  ^  per  or  niiUimiain! 

must  tnidyc  I'df 
it.  In  sonic  |il;iccs 
the  sand  was  soft 
and   yielding:,  and 

■^wHllii^  V     -  ^^■'iv"'  hard  beaten  l)y  the 

wind  lliat  the  foot- 
I'all  wouhl  searc'i'ly 
leave  an  iinpros- 
sioM.  Seranildiiii^ 
to  tiie  sninmil  of 
one  of  the  highest 
hills,  I  found  my- 
self overlooking  a 
renijirkul)le  hol- 
low CO  nip  let  fly 
surrounded  with 
sandy  walls.  A 
Bedouin  niigiit 
liave  been  al  iidinc 
here,  but  f-hi|i- 
w  reeked  sailors 
■would  wander  aim- 
lessly, until,  eaught  in  some  sucli  cul-de-sac,  they  i^avc  up  the  tjhost  in  de- 
spair. In  wintry  storms  the  route  is  impraeticable.  The  tourist  who  has 
never  been  to  Xaples  may  here  do  Vesuvius  in  poco,  takin2^  care  to  empty 
his  shoes  after  sliding  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  ol'  a  sand-hill. 

The  beach  grass,  I  noticed,  resembled  the  buffalo  grass  of  the  plains.  It 
grew  at  equal  distances,  even  in  s|)ots  where  it  had  seeded  itself.  It  is  tlie 
sheet-anehor  of  the  Cape;  for,  now  tliat  the  woods  are  nearly  gone,  tlieie  is 
nothing  else  to  prevent  this  avalam-he  of  sand  from  advancing  and  over- 
whelming every  thing  in  its  way.  Why  may  not  the  cotton-wood,  which  prop- 
agates itself  in  the  sand  on  the  borders  of  Western  rivers,  prove  a  vahuible 
auxiliary  here?  I  have  known  a  newly  formed  sand-bar  in  the  jMissouri  be- 
come a  well-wooded  island  in  ten  years.  There,  the  tiee  grows  to  a  great 
size,  and  seems  to  care  little  for  the  kind  of  soil  it  gets.  The  poj)Iar  (of  tlie 
same  species)  flourished  well,  I  saw,  in  Provincetown  and  elsewhere  on  the 
Cape.     The  experiment  is  worth  the  trying. 

In  Dr.  Belknap's  account  of  Provincetown,  printed  in  1791.  he  says  of  this 


SANDIIIM-S,  I'KOVINCETOWN. 


im«)VIN(i:t<)WX. 


:<!!) 


raniro  of  saiid-liills;  "This  volume  of  sand  is  gradually  n)lliii|Lj  into  the  wooils 
witli  tlie  winds,  and  as  il  ("overs  tho  trees  to  the  tops,  they  die.  The  tops  of 
ilic  lues  appear  above  the  sand,  but  they  are  all  dead.  Whero  they  have 
liicii  lately  coverc-J  the  bark  and  twigs  are  still  remaining;  I'rom  others  they 
iiavc  lallen  off;  some  liave  been  so  long  wliippi'd  and  worn  out  with  the  sand 
1111(1  winds  that  there  is  nothing  remaining  but  the  hearts  and  knots  of  tlie 
trees;  but  over  the  greater  part  of  this  desert  ilie  ti'ees  Inive  long  since  dis- 
,i|i|u;ir(  il."  The  tops  of  the  dead  trees  mentioned  by  Dr.  lielknap,  the  rem- 
iKiiil  I'f  the  ibrest  seen  here  by  the  I'ilgrims,  have  been  cut  olf  for  fuel,  until 
lew,  il'any,  are  to  bo  seen. 

Ai'icr  erossing  tlui  wildei'uess,  T  came  to  tlie  shore.  It  was  blowing  half  a 
<,f,ile,  the  sea  being  roughen(<l  by  it,  but  not  grand.  There  was  but  little  drift, 
ami  lliat  such  "  uneonsitU'red  trifles"  of  the  sea  as  the  vertebrte  of  fishes,  Jelly- 
tisli,  a  lew  tangled  bunches  of  weed,  and  some  pretty  pebbles.  Looking  up 
anil  down  the  beach,  I  discovereil  one  or  two  wreckers  seeking  out  the  night's 
liurvest;  und  jjresently  there  cumu  a  cart  in  which  wen-  a  man  ;ind  woman, 
tlic  iimu  over  and  anon  Jumping  out  to  gather  nji  a  little  bundle  ,f  drift-wood, 
with  which  he  r.an  back  to  the  cart,  IoUowcmI  by  a  shaggy  Newfoundland  dog 
lliiit  harked  and  gamboled  at  his  side.  These  wreckers  claim  what  they  have 
(liseovered  by  placing  crossed  slicks  upon  the  heaj>,  the  mark  being  respected 
by  all  who  come  after. 

1  followed  the  bank  by  tlic  verge  of  the  beatdi,  the  tide  having  but  just 
tiiri'  i'.  Hefore  me  was  the  light-house,  and  the  collection  of  huts  at  Kace 
I'uiiii.  A  single  vessel,  bound  for  a  Southern  port,  was  in  sight,  that,  after 
standing  along,  gunwale  undei',  within  half  a  mile  of  the  shore,  fdled  away  on 
the  oilier  tack,  rounding  the  point  in  good  style.  .\.  hundred  yards  back  of 
the  usual  high-water  mark  were  well-defined  lines  of  drift,  indicating  the  limit 
where  the  sea  in  great  storms  had  forced  its  way.  I  ])assed  a  group  of  huts, 
used  perhaps  at  times  by  fishermen,  and  at  others  as  a  shelter  for  shipwrecked 
mariners.  The  doors  were  open,  and,  notwithstanding  a  palisade  of  barrel- 
staves,  the  sand  had  drifted  to  a  considerable  (h'ptli  within.  Here  also  were 
pieces  of  a  vessel's  bulwarks,  the  fii'st  vestiges  of  wreck  I  had  seen. 

Ill  1802  the  Humane  Society  erected  a  hut  of  refuge  at  the  head  of  Stout's 
(.'reek;  but  it  being  improperly  built  with  a  chimney,  and  placed  on  a  spot 
where  no  beach  grass  grew,  the  strong  winds  blew  the  sand  from  its  founda- 
tion, and  the  weight  of  the  chimney  brought  it  to  the  ground.  A  few  weeks 
later  the  .-hip  Jindus  was  cast  away.  Had  the  hut  remained,  it  is  i)robable 
the  whole  of  the  unfortunate  crew  might  have  been  saved,  as  they  gained  the 
siiore  within  a  few  rods  of  the  spot  where  it  had  stood.  Upon  such  trifles 
the  lives  of  men  sometimes  depend. 

The  curvature  of  the  shore  south  of  Race  Point,  by  which  I  was  walking, 
is  called  Herring  Cove.  There  is  good  anchorage  here,  and  vessels  may  ride 
safely  when  the  wind  is  from  north-east  to  south-east.     The  shore  between 


320 


TiiK  XKW  en(;lam)  coast. 


.'lacc  Point  .'ii>(1  Stout's  Cix'ck,  in  Truro,  was  formerly  coiisiJcred  the  most 
daiigcrous  on  tlio  Capo.  Since  the  erection  of  JIace  Point  Liglit,  disasters 
have  been  less  .  "(luent.  An  attempt  to  penetrate  througli  the  hills  to  Piov- 
incetown  by  n'';'i  would  be  attended  with  danger,  especially  in  the  wiinfr 
season,  but  by  eay  the  stee2)le  of  the  Methodist  church  is  always  in  sii'lit 
I'roni  the  highest  sand-hills. 

Freeman,  in  his  "History  of  Cape  Cod,"  relates  an  occurrence  that  li;i|]. 
pened  here  in  17li2.  A  sloop  from  Duxbury,  in  which  the  Kev.  Jolm  Pohiu- 
son  and  wife,  and  daughter  Mary,  had  taken  passage,  was  upset  by  a  sudilfii 
tempest  near  Mantasket  Beach,  at  the  entrance  oflioston  Harbor.  The  boijv 
of  Mrs.  Jtobinson  was  found  "in  Herring  Cove,  a  little  within  Race  Point,'' 
by  Indians,  about  six  weeks  after  the  event.  It  was  identified  by  papurs 
found  ill  the  stays,  and  by  p,  gold  necklace,  that  had  been  concealed  iVoiii  iIk' 
natives  by  the  swelling  of  the  neck.  A  linger  had  been  cut  oil',  doubtless  liji' 
the  gold  ring  the  unfortunate  huiy  had  worn. 

The  winter  of  lS74-'7u  will  be  memorable  in  Xew  England  beyond  tlic 
present  generation,  the  extreme  cold  having  fast  locked  up  a  greater  nuiiiWr 
of  lier  harbors  than  was  ever  before  known.  Provincetown,  that  is  so  provi- 
dentially situated  to  receive  the  storm-tossed  mariner,  was  hermetically  seal- 
ed by  a  vast  ice-field,  which  extended  from  Wood  End  to  ]\ranomet,  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty-two  miles,  grasping  in  its  icy  embrace  all  intermediate  shores 
and  havens.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Provincetown  a  ileet  of  tisliing  vessels 
that  was  unable  to  reach  the  harbor  became  immovably  imbetlded  in  tlie 
tloe,  thus  realijcing  at  our  very  doors  all  the  j)erils  of  Arctic  navigation.  A 
ll",v  were  released  by  the  aid  of  a  steam-cutter,  but  by  far  the  greater  mniiber 
remained  helplessly  imprisoned  without  other  change  than  that  caused  by 
the  occasional  diift  of  the  ice-Hoe  in  strong  i^ales. 

The  sight  was  indeed  a  novel  one.  Where  before  was  the  expanse  of  bli',;'- 
water,  nothing  couhl  now  be  seen  except  the  white  slab,  ])ure  as  marble,  wliicli 
entombed  the  harbors.  All  within  the  grasp  of  the  eye  was  a  Dead  Sea, 
Flags  of  distress  were  displayed  in  every  direction  from  the  masts  of  crip- 
plcvl  vessels  that  no  help  could  reacli.  Their  hulls,  rigging,  and  taporiiiu' 
spars  were  so  ice-cr;jsted  as  to  resemlde  ships  of  glass.  As  many  as  twenty 
signals  of  distress  were  counted  at  one  time  .from  the  life-saving  station  ;it 
I'rovincetown.  Some  of  these  luckless  craft  wore  crushed  and  sunk  to  the 
bottom;  others  were  abaiuloned  by  their  crews,  wlio  had  eaten  their  lust 
crust  and  burned  the  bulwarks  of  their  vessels  for  fuel.  The  remainder  were 
at  length  released  by  the  breaking-up  of  the  ice-floe,  which  only  relaxed  its 
sjrii)  after  having  held  them  fast  for  a  month. 

It  would  not  be  extravagant  to  say  that  the  beach  on  -he  ocean  side,  be- 
tween Highland  Light  and  Wood  End,  was  strewed  with  wrecks.  Vessel  alter 
vessel  was  dashed  into  pieces  by  waves  that  bore  great  blocks  of  drift-iee  to 
aid  in  the  work  of  destruction.     Orie  starless  n.o.'ning  the  Jcitnes  liomiHcll 


I'liOVINC-ETOWX. 


321 


LTC'il  the  must 
jig'ht,  disasU'i's 
e  hills  to  Tiov- 
•  ill  tlie  Aviiiicr 
Iways  ill  sIliIiI 

•t'lU'O  thai  li;i|i- 
V,  Joliii  l{ol)ill- 
let  by  .1  suililcii 
l)or.  Tlio  body 
11  llaco  I'diiit," 
itiod  by  papiTs 
coaled  troiu  tlif 
tl',  doubtless  t'ui' 

vud  beyoiiil  the 
oTcator  iiuinlRV 
that  is  so  jinivi- 
.'riiietically  si'ul- 
Maiioinot,  a  tlis- 
M'mediate  sIkux's 
»f  tishiii!^  vessels 
ibeddc'il  ill  llio 
iiavinatiou.  A 
greater  iiiitiilii'i' 
Lliat  caused  l)y 

xpaiiso  of  blue- 
marble,  wliicli 
s  a  Dead  Si';i, 
Tiinsts  of  evip- 
,  and  tai.eriiis; 
lany  as  twenty 
viiiir  station  at 
d  sunk  to  tlic 
ateu  their  l:ist 
remainder  were 
only  relaxed  its 

ocean  side,  '"'■ 
s.  Vessel  after 
.s  of  drift-ice  to 
fatian  Romiiidl 


jstnudc  between  Ilitrhlaiid  Light  and 
Race  Point.  Instantly  the  ice-laden 
surges  leaj)ed  upon  her  deck; .  Wood 
and  iron  were  crushed  like  jiajier  un- 
der the  blows  of  sea  and  ice.  The  help- 
less vessel  was  forced  sidewise  toward 
the  beach, where  the  waves  began  hea])- 
ing  up  tho  loo.se  sand  on  the  leeward 
side,  until  it  reached  as  high  as  her 
decks  When  the  vessel  striudv,  the 
crew  chunbered  up  the  rigtjing,  .'md 
all  were  saved,  in  a  perishing  eondi- 
liuu,  with  the  help  of  rescuing  liands 
from  the  life  station.  One  poor  felh»w 
dio|iiieil  dead  on  the  shore  he  had  H 
periled  life  to  gain,  a  IVo/a  u  <'orpse.  Z 
111  twenty -four  hours  tliere  was  mo  > 
more  left  of  the  James  Rdr.niiell  than    ^_ 

could  be  carried  awav  in  the  wreck-    5 

,  •  c 

ers  carts.  /■ 

Ihit   saddest  of  all    was    the   loss    :j 

of  tlie  Italiau  bark  Giot'ainiL     After    > 

eiiflity-one  clays  of  stormy  voyage  from    ^ 

Palcniio,  a  terrible  gale,  which  tore  the    g 

frozen  sails  in  shreds  frctm  her  masts,    " 

drovo  her  upon  this  dangerous  coast.    S 

III  the  midst  of  a  blindiiii>'  snow-storm,    > 

tlio  uiimaiiageable  vessel    was  borne    ■= 

steadily  and  mercilessly  ujiou  the  shore.    7 

When  she  struck,  the  shock  brought 

diiwu  portions  of  her  rigging,  leaving 

lier  a  tlismautled    wreck.     Her   crew 

could  see  people  luoviug  about  on  the 

heach,  but  no  hiiinan  )K)wer  could  aid 

tiieiTi.     Soon  the  (riovanni  began   to 

sink  into  the  sandy  grave  the  waves 

wore  fast  digging  to  receive  her  hull, 

and  the  seas  sweeping  her  decks  raged 

iiroiind  (he  rigging,iu  which  the  sailors 

li;id  taki'ii  refuge.     One  by  one  they 

were  piidvcd  off  by  th(>  waves.     The 

wreckers'  bombs  failed  to  bring  a  line 

to  them.    A  few  of  the  ship's  company 

21 


322 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


made  a  cU'sperate  pusli  for  tlie  boacli,  which  only  one  voaclied  alive.  All 
night  long  the  wreckers  kept  their  walch  hy  the  shore,  hoping  the  g;ile 
might  abate;  but  sea  and  wind  beat  and  liowled  as  wildly  as  before.  When 
it  was  li'.'-ht  enoiiiih  to  descry  the  GlovannL  six  objects  could  be  seen  eliii'-- 
ing  in  the  rigging.  The  ship,  it  was  perceived,  was  fast  breaking  up.  (i(iil 
help  them,  for  no  other  could  !  The  s[)ectators  saw  these  poor  fellows  perish 
before  their  eyes.  They  saw  the  overstrained  masts  bend  and  shiver  and 
break,  crashing  in  ruin  down  upon  the  shattered  hull.  The  next  day  only  a 
piece  of  the  bow  renniined,  sticking  up  like  a  grave-stone  on  the  reef. 

Of  the  GioMitDi'i's  crew  of  fifteen  only  the  one  mentioned  escaped.  lie 
could  not  speak  a  syllable  of  English,  but  was  able,  by  signs,  to  identify  the 
body  of  his  caj)tain,  when  it  came  aslu)re.  The  other  bodies  that  came  in 
were  laid  out  in  Trovincetown  church,  three  miles  from  the  scene  of  the 
wreck.  Stray  portions  of  the  ship's  cargo  of  wine  and  fruit  were  washed 
up,  and  while  any  of  tlie  former  was  to  be  luid  the  beach  was  not  safe  to  be 
traversed.  In  the  midst  of  this  carnival  of  death,  men  drunk  with  wine  won 
dered  up  and  down  in  the  bitter  cold,  intent  upon  robbery  and  violence.  One 
or  more  of  these  beach  i)irates  were  found  dead,  the  victims  of  their  own  de- 
bauch. 

The  configuration  of  tlie  shores  of  the  Cape  on  the  Atlantic  side  is  voiv 
different  from  what  was  observed  by  early  voyagers.  The  Isle  Nausut  of 
Smith  has,  for  more  than  a  century,  been  "  wiped  out"  by  the  sea.'  Inlets  to 
harbors  have  in  some  cases  been  closed  and  other  ])assages  opened,  as  at  East- 
ham  and  Orleans.  In  1803  remains  of  the  hull  of  an  ancient  ship  were  uncov- 
ered at  Nauset  Beach  in  Orleans,  imbedded  in  the  mud  of  a  meadow  a  ijiiarter 
of  a  mile  from  any  water  that  would  have  floated  her.  Curiosity  was  aiuused 
by  the  situation  as  well  as  the  singular  build  of  the  vessel,  and  what  was  Kt't 
of  her  was  released  from  the  bed  in  which,  it  is  believed,  it  had  been  inclosed 
for  more  than  two  centuries.  A  careful  wi'iter  considers  it  to  have  been  the 
wreck  of  the  Sparrow-hatck,  mentioned  by  Bradford  as  having  been  stranded 
liere  in  1G26.' 

There  are  generally  two  ranges  of  sand-bars  on  the  ocean  side  of  the  Cape; 
the  outward  being  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  shore,  and  the  inner 
range  five  hundred  yards.  As  in  the  case  of  the  ill-fated  Giovanni,  a  vessel 
usually  brings  up  on  the  outer  bar,  and  pounds  over  it  at  the  next  tiih',  mere- 
ly to  encounter  the  inward  shoal.  Ijct-veen  these  two  ranges  a  trenuMulons 
cross-sea  is  always  running  in  severe  gales,  and,  if  the  wind  has  coiilimied 


'  When  the  English  first  settled  upon  the  Cape  there  was  an  island  off  Ciintliatn,  three  leagues 
distant,  called  Wehh's  Island.  It  contained  twenty  acres,  covered  with  red-cedar  or  savin.  'I'lie 
Nantucket  people  resorted  to  it  for  fire-wood.  In  1702,  as  Dr.  Morse  relates,  it  had  ceased  tn 
exist  for  neiuiy  a  century.  "A  large  rock,"  he  says,  "  that  was  upon  the  island,  and  which  settled 
ns  the  earth  washed  away,  now  marks  the  i)!ace." 

'  Amos  0  is,  in  the  "New  Eiii^ImiuI  llistoiical  and  Genealogical  Register,"  1865. 


rUOVlNCETOWN. 


;V23 


lonu  from  tlio  same  quarter,  causing  a. so  a  current  tliat  will  float  the  dUn'h 
of  a  wreck  along  the  shure  taster  than  a  man  can  walk.     With  the  wind    <X 
siiuilieast  the  wreck  stutt' will  not  land,  but  is  carri(!d  rapidly  to  the  north- 
west.    Shipwrecked  mariners  have  to  cross  this  hell  gate  to  reach  the  beach. 
The  mortars  used  at  the  life-stations  will  not  carry  a  life-line  to  a  vessel  at  five 
iiiindred  yards  from  the  shore  in  the  teeth  of  a  gale,  and  are  therefore  useless 
iit  that  distance;  but  if  the  wreck  is  fortunate  enough  to  be  lifted  over  the 
inner  l)ar  bj  the  sea,  it  will  strike  the  beach  at  a  distance  where  it  is  practica- 
ble to  save  life  under  oi'dinary  contingencies.     So  great  are  the  obstacles  to 
lie  overcome  on  this  shore,  that  there  is  no  part  of  the  New  Enghuid  coast, 
Nantucket  perhaps  excepted,  where  a  sailor  would  not  rather  sufter  shipwreck. 
Standing  here,  I  felt  as  if  I  haa  not  lived  in  vain.     I  was  as  near  Europe 
as  my  legs  would  carry  me,  at  the  extreme  of  this  withered  arm  with  a  town 
ill  the  hollow  of  its  hand.     You  seem  to  have  invaded  the  domain  of  old  Nep- 
tune, and  plucked  him  by  the  very  beard.     For  centuries  the  storms  have 
beaten  upon  this  narrow  strip  of  sand,  behind  which  the  commerce  of  a  State 
liis  intrenched.     The  assault  is  unflagging,  the  defense  obstinate.     Fresh  col- 
umns are  always  forming  outside  for  tiie  attack,  and  the  roll  of  ocean  is  for- 
ever beating  the  charge.    Yet  the  Cape  stands  fast,  and  will  not  budge.    It  is 
as  if  it  sliould  say,  "After  me  the  Deluge." 


A    "SLNKISU. 


la,'  ninl  wlii^l'  .cttleJ 


NANTUCKET,  FUOM  TUE  SEA. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


NANTUCKKT. 

"God  bless  the  sea-beat  island! 
And  grant  for  evermore 
That  charity  and  freedom  dwell, 

As  now,  upon  her  shore." — Wiiittiek.' 

THE  sea-port  of  Nantuckot,  every  body  knows,  rose,  flourished,  and  ft!! 
witli  tlie  whule-lisliery.  It  lies  snugly  euseoncud  in  tlie  bottom  ofubay 
on  the  north  side  of  the  island  of  the  name,  witli  a  broad  sound  of  water  be- 
tween it  and  the  nearest  main-land  of  Cape  Cod.  The  first  Elnglisliman  to 
leave  a  distinct  record  of  it  was  Captain  Dernier,  who  was  here  in  1020, 
though  Weymouth  probably  became  entangled  among  Xantucket  Slioals  in 
May,  1605.  The  relations  of  Archer  and  Ib'ercton  render  it  at  least  doubtt'iil 
whether  this  island  was  not  the  first  on  whicli  Gosnold  landed,  and  to  whiih 
he  gave  the  name  of  Martha's  Vineyard.  The  two  accounts  are  too  riiudi  at 
variance  to  enable  the  student  to  bring  them  into  reciprocal  agrecnu'iit,  yet 
♦hat  of  Archer,  being  in  the  form  of  a  diary,  in  which  each  day's  transactions 
are  noted,  wi"  be  preferred  to  the  narrative  cf  Brereton,  who  wrote  i'vuin  rec- 
ollection.    To  these  the  curious  reader  is  referred.' 

The  name  of  "Nautican"  is  the  first  I  have  found  applied  to  Xaiitucket 


'  Purehas,  iv. ;  reprinted  in  "Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,"  iii.,  viii.  I  can  not  give 
space  to  those  point",  that  confirm  my  view,  but  they  make  a  strong  jiresHmplive  cum'.  It  li^i* 
been  alleged  that  De  Poutrincoint  landed  1  ";re  after  his  conflict  wilh  the  Indians  of  Cnpc  t'od,  So 
far  from  landitig  on  the  island  fhev  saw,  Cham]ilain  sa\'s  they  named  it  "/,«  SoiijigDnneiise,"  (mm 
the  doubts  they  had  of  it.  Lescarhot  adds  that  "they  saw  an  island,  si.x  or  seven  leagues  in  length. 
which  tliey  were  not  able  to  reach,  and  so  called  '//e  Douteuse.'  "  The  land,  it  is  prohalile,  wa> 
the  Vineyard. 


NANTUCKET. 


325 


uvislicd,  and  felt 
bottom  of  a  bay 
miul  of  water  be- 
t  Englisliman  to 
as  lioro  in  \6% 
ituckt-t  Shoals  in 
at  least  doubtful 


ed  to  Nantucket 


Island.'  Whether  the  derivation  is  from  the  Latin  naitticus,  or  a  corruption 
of  tlu'  Indian,  is  disputed,  though  the  word  has  an  inimistakably  Indian  sound 
and  construction."  In  the  patents  and  other  documents  it  is  called  Nantukcs, 
Maiitukes,  or  Nantucquet  Isle^  indifferently,  showing,  as  may  be  suggested,  as 
many  efforts  to  construe  good  Indian  into  1)ad  English.  Previous  to  Gos- 
iiold's  voyage  the  English  had  no  knowledge  of  it,  nor  were  the  names  ho 


M.Vl'  OK   CAl'ECOU,  NANTLXKICT,  AM)   MAIlTU.v'fi   VINliVAUl). 

gave  the  isles  discovered  by  him  in  general  use  until  long  afterward.  One 
other  derivation  is  too  far-fetched  for  serious  coirideration,  a  mere  Jeu  de  mot, 
to  which  all  readers  of  (Josnold's  voyage  are  insensible,  llis'corians  and  an- 
tiquaries having  alike  failed  to  solve  these  knotty  questions,  it  is  proposed 

•  Ry  Sir  F.  Gorges. 

'  Nantiisket,  Namasket,  Naushon,  Suwtuckett,  are  Indian. 


826 


THE   NKW  ENGLAND   COAST. 


to  refer  them  to  a  council  of  Spiritualists,  with  power  to  send  for  persons  and 
j)aj)ers. 

Those  who  wish  to  enjoy  a  foretaste  of  crossin;;-  tlie  l>ritis]i  Cliannel  riiiv 
have  it  by  going  to  Nantucket.  The  passage  affords  in  a  marked  degree  tlie 
peculiarities  of  a  sea-voyage,  and,  in  rough  weather,  is  not  exempt  iVoni  its 
drawbacks.  The  land  is  nearly,  if  not  quite,  lost  to  view.  You  are  on  tlie  real 
ocean,  and  the  remainder  of  the  voyage  to  Europe  is  merely  a  few  nu)re  revo- 
lutions of  the  ))addles.  You  have  enjoyed  the  etnotions  incident  to  gettiiii,' 
under  way,  of  steering  boldly  out  into  the  open  sea,  ami  of  tossing  for  a  few 
hours  upon  its  billows:  the  rest  is  but  a  question  of  time  and  endurance. 

Every  one  is  prepossessed  with  Nantucket.  Its  isolation  from  the  world 
surrounds  it  with  a  mysterious  ha/.e,  that  is  the  more  fascinating  because  it 
exacts  a  certain  faith  in  the  invisible.  Inviting  the  imagination  to  depict  it 
for  us,  is  far  more  interesting  than  if  we  could,  by  going  down  to  the  shore, 
see  it  any  day.  In  ordcu-  to  get  to  it  we  must  steer  by  the  compass,  niid  in 
thick  weather  look  it  up  with  the  plummet.  In  brief,  it  answers  many  of  the 
conditions  of  an  undiscovered  country.  Although  laid  down  on  every  good 
map  of  New  England,  and  certified  by  the  relations  of  many  trustwortliy 
writers,  it  is  not  enough  ;  we  do  not  know  Nantucket. 


'  jH=liSfc^L^---"^^^-.ie^^    ^ 


APl'KOACU  TO  MAUTllAS    Vl.NUVAUl). 


No  brighter  or  sunnier  day  could  be  wished  for  than  the  one  on  wliicli 
the  Inland  Home  steamed  out  from  Wood's  Hole  into  the  Vineyard  Sound  for 
the  sea-girt  isle.  Besiiles  the  usual  complement  of  health  and  pleasure  seek- 
ers was  a  comjiany  of  strolling  players,  from  IJoston,  as  they  announced  tlicin- 
selves — a  very  long  way  indeed,  I  venture  to  affirm.  These  "  abstracts  and 
brief  chronicles  of  the  time"  were  soon  "well  bestowed"  on  the  cabin  sofas, 
the  rising  sea  making  it  at  least  doubtful  whether  they  Avould  be  able  to  |it'r- 
forni  before  a  Nantucket  audience  so  soon  as  that  niirht.     From  the  old  salt 


NANTUCKET. 


)!•  persons  iuul 


k'ard  Sound  iov 
|l  ploasuvi'  seek- 
inounced  tliein- 
"  abstracts  and 
[he  cabin  sofas, 
1  be  able  to  i>i'V- 


wlio  rang  tlio  bell  and  mucd  immediate  attendance  at  the  captain's  office, 
to  (lie  captain  himself,  with  golden  rings  in  his  ears,  and  tlie  Indian  girl  who 
officiated  as  stewardess,  the  belongings  ut'  iho  Island  /fot/u-  aHoat  were  spiced 
witli  a  novel  yet  agreeable  foretaste  of  the  island  lionie  fast  anchored  in  the 
Allaiitic. 

Tlic  sail  across  the  Vineyard  Sound  is  more  than  beautiful;  it  is  a  poem. 
Trending  away  to  the  west,  the  Elizabeth  Islands,  like  a  gate  ajar,  half  elosei 
the  entrance  into  Bu/zard's  l>ay.  Among  them  neatles  Cutty  hunk,  wliere  the 
very  lirst  English  sj)ade  was  driven  into  New  England  soil.'  Straight  over 
ill  front  of  the  ])atlnvay  the  steamer  is  cleaving  the  N'ineyard  is  looking  its 
best  and  greenest,  with  oak-skirted  liighlands  inclosing  the  sheltered  harbor 
nt'A'iiicyard  Haven,"  famous  on  all  this  coast.  Edgartown  is  seen  at  the  bot- 
tniii  of  a  deep  indentation,  its  roofs  gleaming  like  scales  on  some  huge' re])tile 
tliat  has  crawled  out  of  the  sea,  and  is  basking  on  the  warm  yellow  sands. 
Cliappaipiiddick  Island,  with  its  sandy  tentacles,  terminates  in  Cape  Poge,  on 
wliieli  is  a  light-house. 

lietwecn  the  shoies,  .ind  as  far  as  eye  can  discern,  the  fleet  that  passes 
alniosl  without  intermission  is  hurrvinu:  no  and  down  the  Sound.  One  col- 
iiiiiii  stretches  away  under  bellying  sails,  like  a  fleet  ad\ancing  in  line  of  bat- 
tle, but  the  van-guard  is  sinking  beneath  the  distant  waves.  Still  they  come 
and  go,  speeding  on  to  the  appointed  mart,  threading  their  way  securely 
aiiioiin'  islands,  cajies,  and  shoals.  Much  they  enliven  the  scene.  A  sea  with- 
out a  sail  is  a  more  impressive  solitude  than  a  desiM'ted  city. 

We  ran  b"tween  the  two  sandy  jjoints,  long  and  low,  that  inclose  the  har- 
bor into  smoother  water.  The  cajilain  went  on  the  guard.  "Heave  your 
bow-liiic."  "Ay,  ay,  sir."  "  Uack  her,  sir"  (to  the  ])ilot).  "Hold  on  your 
simug"  "Stop  her."  "Slack  away  the  bow-line  there."  "Haul  in."  It 
is  liaiulsomely  done,  and  this  is  Xantticket. 

The  wharf,  I  shotdd  infer,  would  be  the  best  ])lace  in  which  to  take  the 
census  of  Xantiud^et.  Xo  small  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  were  assem 
bled  at  the  pier's  head,  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  boat.  You  had  flrst  to 
make  your  way  through  a  skirmishing  lint'  of  hack-drivers  and  of  boys  eager 
to  carry  your  luggage;  then  came  the  solid  battalion  of  citizen  idlers,  and 
behind  these  was  a  reserve  of  carriages  and  carts.  On  the  pier  you  gain  the 
iilea  that  Nantucket  is  poi)ulous;  that  what  you  see  is  merely  the  overflow  ; 
whereas  it  is  the  wharf  that  is  popidous,  while  the  town  is  for  the  moment 
well-nigh  deserted.  There  could  be  no  better  expression  of  the  feeling  of  iso- 
lation than  the  agitation  produced  by  so  simple  an  event  as  the  arrival  of  the 
'laily  i)acket.  Doors  are  slammed,  shutters  pulled  to  in  a  hurry,  while  a  tide 
oi'etirinus  liumanity  pours  itself  upon  the  landing-place.     The  coming  steaui- 


In  1002  liy  the  colony  of  Um-tboloniew  Gosnold.  iilreiuly  so  often  mentioned  in  tliese  pages. 
'Hotter  linown  as  llohnes's  Hole, 


328 


Till-:    XKW   i;N(iLANI)   COAST. 


/ 


A    IMT   Of   NANTUCKET — TllH   IlOUSE-TOl'S. 


er  is  heralclcd  by  tlif  town-crloi's  fisli-lioni,  as  soon  as  descried  from  tlie 
rliurcli-tower  that  is  Ills  observatory.  In  winter,  when  comnuinicatioii  with 
tlie  main-land  is  sometimes  interrnpted  for  several  days  togotlier,  the  S(!iise  »(' 
separation  from  tlie  world  must  be  intensified.' 

After  rnnnincT  the  rjantlet  of  the  erowd  on  the  wharf,  the  strantrcr  is  at 
liberty  to  look  about  him. 

The  iire  of  1846  having  destroyed  the  business  portion  of  the  town,  that 
part  is  not  more  interesting  than  the  average  Xew  England  towns  of  iiioil- 
ern  growth.  Generally  speaking,  the  houses  are  of  wood,  the  idea  of  spa- 
ciousness seeming  prominent  with  the  builders.  Plenty  of  house-room  was 
no  doubt  synonymous  with  plenty  of  sea-room  in  the  minds  of  retired  ship- 
masters, whose  battered  hidks  I  saw  safe  moored  in  snug  and  quiet  harbors. 
The  streets  are  cleanly,  and,  having  trees  and  flower-gardens,  are  often  pretty 
and  cheerful. 

The  roofs  of  many  houses  are  surmounted  by  a  railed  platform,  a  reminder 
of  the  old  whaling  times.  Here  the  dwellers  might  sit  in  the  cool  of  the  oven- 
ing,  and  take  note  of  tlie  passing  ships,  or  of  some  deep- laden  whaleman 
with  rusty  sides  and  grimy  spars  wallowing  toward  the  harbor.  Here  the 
merchant  anxiously  scanned  the  horizon  for  tidings  of  some  loitering  hark; 
and  here  superannuated  skippers  paced  uj)  and  down,  as  they  had  done  tlie 
quarter-deck.     I  question  if  the  custom  was  not  lirst  brought  here  from  the 


'  On  tlie  raising  of  the  ice-blockmie  of  tiie  past  winter  seventeen  mails  were  due,  the  giciitest 
number  since  1857,  when  twenty-five  regular  and  two  senii-montlily  mails  were  landed  at  Qiiidiiet, 


NANTLTKET. 


329 


iried  tVoiii  llii' 
unicatiun  with 
31",  the  sense  of 

striiiifjfor  is  at 

the  town,  that 

towns  of  niod- 

|o  idea  of  spa- 

ouse-rooni  was 

,f  vetinMl  shi])- 

(piiet  liiu'bors. 

■e  often  pretty 

h-ni,  a  rcnruKler 
lol  of  the  even- 
|(len  -whaleman 
l)or.  Here  tlic 
loiterint;;  hark; 
had  done  tlie 
1  here  from  the 

due,  the  gro:itest 
limtk-l  lit  QuiJi'et- 


tropics,  for  in  Spanish-talking  America  the  best  room  is  not  unfrcquently 
tlic  roof,  to  whieli  the  family  resort  on  sweltering  hot  nights.  ►Sometimes  u 
stcnn  arises,  when  the  precipitancy  with  which  the  sleepers  gather  up  their 
palhts  and  seek  a  shelter  is  the  more  amusing  if  witnessed  near  day-hreak. 
Formerly  every  other  house  in  Nantneket  had  one  of  these  lookouts,  or  a 
vane  at  the  gable-end,  to  show  if  the  wind  was  fair  lor  vessels  homeward- 
bound. 

While  other  towns  have  increased,  Nantucket  for  a  length  of  time  has 
stood  still.  I  saw  no  evidences  of  squalid  poverty  or  of  actual  want,  though 
there  was  a  striking  ahseiice  of  activity.  The  tire,  of  which  they  still  talk, 
though  it  hapj)ened  thirty  y^-ars  ago,  can  not  he  traced  hy  such  visible  re- 
minders as  a  mass  of  new  buildings  Ktted  into  the  burned  sj)ace,  or  by  a  cor- 
don of  old  houses  drawn  around  its  chari-ed  edges.  The  disaster  caused  the 
loss  of  many  handsome  buildings,  among  them  Trinity  Church,  a  beautiful 
little  edifice,  having  latticed  windows. 

If  there  was  no  scpialor  obtruding  itself  n))on  the  stranger,  neither  was 
there  any  disjday  of  ostentatious  wealth.  There  were  a  few  large  Sijuare 
mansions  of  brick  or  wood,  and  even  an  aristocratic  (piarter,  once  known  as 
Iiulia  Kow;  but,  on  the  whole,  a  remarkable  ecpiality  existed  iu  the  houses 
(if  Nantucket.  The  old  New  England  Greek  temple  greets  yon  familiarly 
liure  and  there.  I  read  on  the  sign-boards  the  well-remembered  names  of 
Coffin,  Folger,  Bunker,  ]Macy,  Starbuck,  etc.,  that  could  belong  nowhere  else 
than  here.  Whenever  I  have  seen  one  of  them  in  some  distant  corner  of 
the  continent,  I  have  felt  like  raising  the  island  slogan  of  other  times,  "There 
she  blows !" 

The  Nantucket  of  colonial  times  was  not  more  like  the  present  than  sail- 
ors in  pigtails  and  high-crowned  hats  are  like  the  close-cropped,  wide-trow- 
sored  tars  of  to-day.  Houses  were  scattered  about  without  the  semblance  of 
order.  The  streets  had  never  ajiy  names  until  the  assessment  of  the  direct 
tax  in  the  administration  of  President  Adams.  Common  convenience  divided 
the  town  into  neighborhoods,  familiarly  known  as  " Up-in-Town,"  "West 
Cove,"  or  "  North  Shore."  An  old  traveler  says  the  stranger  formerly  re- 
ceived direction  to  Elisha  Bunker's  Street,  or  David  Mitchell's  Street,  or  Tris- 
tram llussey's  Street. 

The  average  conversation  is  still  interlarded  with  such  sea  phrases  as 
"cruising  about,"  "short  allowance,"  "  rigged  out,"  etc.  I  heard  one  woman 
ask  for  the  "bight "of  a  clothes-line.  I  had  it  from  credible  authority  that  a 
Cape  Cod  girl,  when  kissed,  always  presented  the  other  cheek,  saying, "  You 
darsent  do  that  again."  A  Nantucket  lass  would  say,  "  Sheer  off,  or  I'll  split 
your  mainsail  with  a  typhoon." 

There  is  a  story  of  a  "cute"  Nantucket  skipper,  A\ho  boasted  he  could  tell 
where  his  schooner  might  be  in  the  thickest  weather,  simply  by  tasting  what 
the  sounding"-lead  brought  up,     llis  mates  resolved  to  put  him  to  the  test. 


330 


TilK   NKW  KN(iLA\n  COAST. 


The  k'iiil  was  well  greased,  and  tliiMist  into  a  box  of  eartli,  "a  parsnip  bod," 
tliat  liad  been  broujilit  on  board  bclbi-c  sailiiii;.  It  was  tlien  taken  down  to 
tlio  skipper,  and  lie  was  requestcil  to  tell  tlie  schooner's  position.     At  the  first 

taste 

"Tlie  skiinKM'  slonncd,  niul  tore  liis  linir. 

'riinist  (111  liis  liocits,  Mini  loiuwl  to  Miirden, 
* NmitiickL't's  sunk,  and  here  we  me 
Kiglit  over  old  Marm  llaekett's  garden!'" 

The  sti'eets  avoid  the  liital  sti-aight-iine,  tliough  tliey  are  not  reniarkal)Iv 
crooked.  In  the  business  (piarter  they  are  i)aved  with  cobble-stones,  siiow  nig 
ruts  deeply  worn  by  the  eomnierce  of  other  days.  Grass  was  growing  out  of 
the  interstices  of  the  ])avenient,  where  once  merchants  most  did  congregate. 
One  of  the  principal  avenues  is  built  along  the  brow  of  the  sea-blntV,  su  tiiat 
almost  every  house  commands  a  broad  sweep  of  ocean  view.  Tiie  sides  of.i 
great  many  houses  were  shingled,  being  warmer,  as  many  will  tell  you,  tliaii 
if  covei'ed  with  clapboards.  As  in  all  maritime  towns,  the  weather-vane  is 
usually  a  fish,  and  that,  of  course,  a  whale.  It  is  the  first  thing  looked  at  in 
the  morning  by  every  male  inhabitant  of  the  island.  Some  of  the  lanes  go 
reeling  and  twisting  about  in  a  remarkable  manner. 

Nantucket  was  larger  than  I  had  expected.  The  best  view  of  it  is  ob- 
tailed  irom  the  side  of  Coatue.  A  single  old  windmill  on  the  summit  of  a 
hill  behind  the  town  adds  to  its  pictuiesqueness,  and  somewhat  relieves  the 
too-familiar  outlines  of  roof  and  steeple.  lint  what,  in  a  place  of  its  size,  is 
most  remarkable,  is  the  almost  total  absence  of  movement.  It  impressed  iiic, 
the  time  I  was  there,  as  uninhabited.  There  were  no  troops  of  joyous  cliil- 
dren  by  day,  nor  throngs  of  promenaders  by  night;  all  was  listless  and  still. 
Here,  indeed,  was  the  town,  but  where  were  the  peojile  ?  I  was  not  at  all 
surprised  wiien  accosted  by  one  who,  like  me,  waiidei'cd  and  wondered,  with 
the  question,  "Does  any  body  live  in  Nantucket?"  In  midwinter,  said  an 
old  resident  to  me,  you  might  have  a  hosjiital  in  the  town  market-jjlace  with- 
out danger  of  disturbing  any  body.  The  noise  of  wheels  rattling  over  tliu 
stony  street  is  not  often  heard. 

Owing  to  the  tctal  loss  of  its  great  industry,  the  population  of  Najitnckct 
is  not  greater  thar.  it  was  a  hundred  years  ago,  aiul  not  half  what  it  was  ear- 
ly in  the  century.'  A  large  proportion  of  the  houses,  it  would  a]>poar,  were 
unoccupied;  yet  many  that  had  long  remained  vacant  were  being  tlin>\vii 
open  to  admit  new  guests,  that  are  seeking 

"The  brcnili  of  a  new  life— the  healing  of  the  seas!" 

Old  brasses  were  being  furbished  up,  and  cobwebs  swept  away  by  inw 
and  ruthless  brooms.     The  town  is  being  colonized  from  the  main-land,  ainl 


'  In  18.37  its  population  was  9048 ;   it  is  now  a  little  more  than  4000. 


NANTUCKET. 


3a  1 


thoiifjli  tlic  inliabitants  welcome  tlie  cliaiirjc,  tlio  crust  find  flavor  of  oriijiiial- 
ity  ciii  not  survive  it.  Already  the  drift  lias  set  in:  we  may,  perhaps,  live 
to  see  a  full-fledged  lackey  in  Nantucket  streets. 

Tlie  wharves  show  the  satne  decay  as  in  Salem  and  Plymouth,  except  that 
licrc  all  are  about  equally  diliipidated  and  txrass-ijjrown.  Not  a  whuliMi-:  ves- 
sel of  any  tonnaL;e  to  he  seen  in  Xantuckel  !  The  jissertion  seems  incredible. 
Ill  ls:il  there  were  seventy-three  ships  and  a  fleet  of  smaller  craft  owned  on 
the  island.  At  this  moment  a  brace  of  Hshinu;  schooners,  called  smacks,  were 
the  larj^est  craft  in  the  harbor.  The  dispersion  of  the  shippiii:,'  has  been  liki> 
to  that  of  the  inhabitants.  I  have  seen  those  old  whale-ships,  with  their  blutt' 
bows  and  flush  decks,  moored  in  a  lontj  line  inside  the  (Joldeii  (late.  There 
tlifV  hiy,  roltin;^  at  their  juichors,  with  topmasts  struck,  and  <j;reat  holes  cut 
ill  tluir  sides,  biu;  enough  to  drive  a  wagon  right  into  their  holds.  To  a  lands- 
man they  looked  not  unlike  a  fleet  in  array  of  battle. 

Others  of  these  old  hulks  drifted  into  such  ports  as  Aca))ulco  and  Panama, 
wliero  they  were  used  for  coaling  the  steamships  of  that  coast  ;  and  at  Sacra- 
iiieiili)  I  saw  they  had  converted  one  into  a  prison-ship.  The  last  of  them  re- 
Miiiining  in  New  Kngland  harbors  were  purchased  by  the  (lovernment,  and 
Slink  in  rebel  harbors,  as  unfit  longer  to  swim  the  seas.  It  is  not  pleasant  to 
think  how  the  last  vestiges  of  a  commerce  that  carried  the  fame  of  the  island 
to  tiie  remotest  corners  of  the  earth  have  been  swept  from  the  face  of  the 
ocean. 

The  V,  hale-ship  I  was  last  on  board  of  was  the  old  Po'i,  of  New  London, 
tliat  looked  able  to  sail  ecpially  well  bow  or  stern  foremost.  The  brick  try- 
luMisc,  thick  with  soot,  remained  on  deck,  the  water-butt  was  still  lashed  to 
ihe  inizzen-mast.  How  she  smelled  of  oil!  ller  timbers  were  soaked  with 
it,  and,  on  looking  down  the  hatchway,  I  could  see  it  floating,  in  prismatic 
colors,  on  the  surface  of  the  bilge-water  in  her  hold.  Many  a  whale  had 
heeii  cut  up  alongside.  Her  decks  were  greasy  as  a  butcher's  block. 
Though  her  spars  were  aloft,  she  had  a  slii)shod  look  that  would  have  vexed 
;i  saih)r  beyond  measure.  The  very  manner  in  which  the  yards  were  crossed 
tdhl  as  plainly  of  abandonment  as  unreeved  blocks  and  sbckened  rigging  be- 
tokened a  careless  indiiference  of  her  future. 

Ill  the  days  of  whaling,  a  diff*erent  scene  presented  itself  from  that  uow 
soon  on  Nantucket  wharves.  Ships  were  then  constantly  going  and  coming, 
(liscliarging  their  cargoes,  or  getting  ready  for  sea.  The  quays  were  encum- 
hcred  with  butts  of  oil  and  heaps  of  bone.  The  smith  was  busy  at  his  forge, 
the  cooper  beside  himself  with  work.  Let  us  step  into  the  warehouse.  Oil 
is  everywhere.  The  counting-house  ceiling  is  smeared  with  it.  The  walls  are 
liiiiig  with  pictures  of  famous  whalemen — in  oil,  of  course — coming  into  port 
with  flags  aloft,  and  T  know  uot  how  many  barrels  under  their  hatches.  See 
the  private  signal  at  the  mizzen,  the  foam  falling  from  the  bows,  and  bub- 
l)liiig  astern!      A  brave  sight;  but  become  unfrequent  of  late. 


332 


TIIK    N'i:\V   F,N(iI-.\Nl)   COAST. 


LAsr  OK  rui:  \vii.\LE-suipa. 

Oil  tlio  Willis  are  also  models  or 
foriuiiivte  sliips,  neatly  lettered  with 
their  names  antl  voyages.  I  have  seen  the  head  ami  tusks  of  the  walrus  af- 
fixed to  them,  as  the  head  and  antlers  of  the  stag  might  grace  the  lialls  of 
the  liuntsmen  of  the  land.  A  strip  of  whalehonc ;  maps  or  charts,  smoke- 
blackened,  and  dotted  with  greasy  finger-marks,  indicating  where  sliips 
liad  been  spoken,  or  mayhap  gone  to  Uavy  Jones's  Locker;  a  South  Sea 
javelin  with  barbed  head,  a  war  club  and  slieaf  of  envenomed  arrows,  or  a 
])addle  curiously  carved,  were  the  usual  paraphernalia  appropi'iate  in  such  a 
place. 

In  the  store-room  are  all  the  supplies  necessary  to  a  voyage.  There  are 
harpoons,  lances,  and  cutting  spades,  with  a  rifle  or  two  for  the  cabin.  Coils 
of  rigging,  and  lines  for  the  boats,  with  a  thousand  other  objects  belonging  to 
the  ship's  outfitting,  are  not  wanting. 

According  to  Langlet,  the  whale-fishery  was  first  carried  on  by  the  Nor- 
wegians, in  the  ninth  century.  Up  to  the  sixteenth  century,  Xewioiiiidhuiil 
and  Iceland  were  the  fishing-grounds.  The  use  of  bone  was  not  known  until 
1578;  consequently,  says  an  old  writer,  "  no  stays  were  worn  by  the  ladies." 
The  English  commenced  whaling  at  Spitzbergea  in  1598,  but  they  had  been 


NANTUCKKT. 


333 


liicccilod  ill  those  seas  by  tlic  Dutch.  As  many  as  two  thousand  whaU's  a 
year  have  been  annually  killed  on  the  coast  of  (iiriMiIand. 

ClianipliiiM  Huys  tluit  in  his  time  it  was  believed  the  wliale  was  usually  taken 
hy  halls  fired  i'roni  a  can- 
iidM,  and  that  several  ini- 
|)it(Ii'iitliarsliad  sustained 
this  o|iiiiion  to  his  I'aee. 
The  r>as(jues,  he  contin- 
iii's,  were  the  most  skill- 
ful in  this  fishery.  Leav- 
ing their  vessels  in  sotne 
good  harbor,  they  nian- 
iiud  their  shallops  with 
good  men,  well  provided 
with  lines  a  hundred  and 
tilly  fathoms  in  length, 
of  the  best  and  strongest 
hemp.     These    \vi.'vo.    at-  'viiamno  in  thk  oi.de.v  time. 

tiiclied  to  the  middle  of  the  liarpnnns.'  In  each  shallop  was  a  liarpooner,  the 
most  adroit  and  " (^/«/,(>,s' "  among  them,  who  hud  the  largest  share  after  the 
master,  inasmueh  as  !:is  was  the  most  hazardous  ofliee.  Tiie  boats  wore  pro- 
videil  also  with  a  number  of  partisans  of  the  length  of  a  iialf-pike,  shod  with 
an  iron  six  inches  broad  and  very  trenchant.' 

AVhen  at  l*rovincct(-wn,  I  referred  to  the  Ix-ginning  of  t'le  whalc-fishory  of 
Xantucket.  lehabod  Taddock,  in  IGOO,  instructed  the  islanders  liow  to  kill 
whales  from  the  shore  in  boats.  The  Indians  of  the  island  joined  in  the  chase, 
and  were  as  dexterous  as  any.  Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  small  sloops 
and  sclioonera  of  thirty  or  forty  tons  burden  were  titled  out,  in  wliich  tiie 
lilid)ber,  after  being  first  cut  in  lai'ge  scpiare  pieces,  was  brought  home,  for 
tiyiiig  out.  In  a  few  years  vessels  of  sixty  to  eiglity  tons,  fitted  with  try- 
works,  were  employed. 

Douglass  gives  aome  additional  particulars.    About  1746,  he  says,  whaling 

'  Tlie  Diitcli  niso  whiilod  with  lonp  rojies,  ns  is  now  our  inetliod. 

''  Wcnmoiith  also  {loscribes  tiie  Indian  miinner  of  tal<ing  wIimIl's;  "One  especial  thing  is  their 
manner  of  lulling  the  whale,  whieh  they  call  powdawe ;  and  will  describe  his  form  ;  how  he  bloweih 
lip  the  water ;  and  that  he  is  twelve  fathoms  long ;  and  that  they  go  in  compnny  of  their  King,  wiili 
aniiiltitude  of  their  boats,  and  strike  him  with  a  bone  made  in  the  fashion  of  a  harjiing-iron,  fas- 
tened to  a  rope,  which  they  make  great  and  strong  of  the  bark  of  trees,  which  they  veer  ont  after 
liim ;  that  all  their  boats  come  nbont  him,  and  as  he  riseth  above  water,  with  their  arrows  they  shoot 
liim  to  death.  When  they  have  killed  him  and  dragged  him  to  shore,  they  call  all  their  chief  lords 
togcilicr,  and  sing  a  song  of  joy  ;  and  these  chief  lords,  whom  they  call  sagamores,  divide  the  spoil, 
and  give  to  every  man  a  share,  which  pieces  so  distriimted  they  hang  np  abont  their  houses  for 
provision  ;  and  when  they  boil  them,  they  blow  olf  the  fat,  and  put  to  their  pease,  maize,  and  other 
pulse  which  they  ent. — "Weymouth's  Voyage." 


;5iJ4 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


was  by  sl()0])S  or  schooners,  eaeli  carryiiii;  two  boats  atul  thirteen  men.     In 
^.'vory  boat  were  a  harpooner,  steersman,  and  four  oarsmen,  wlio  used  nooses 

ibr  their  oars,  so  tliat  by  letting  them 
go  they  M'oiild  trail  alongside  wlioii 
they  were  fast  to  a  wliale.  Tiie"fast" 
was  a  ro]>e  of  about  twenty-tive  liiih- 
oms,  attached  to  a  drag  made  of  itlaiik, 
about   two   feet    square,  with   a   slick 


WUALE   OF   Till,    ANCIF.NTS. 


througli  its  centre.  To  tlie  end  of  this 
stick  the  tow-rope  of  til'teeji  fatlioms 
was  fastened.' 

It  passes  without  challenge  thai  llie 
isle's  men  were  the  most  skillfid  wliale- 
nuMi  in  the  world.  The  boys,  as  soon 
as  they  could  talk,  i.iade  use  of  the  Indian  word  "  townor,"  meaning,  "  I  li;ue 
twice  seen  the  whale;"  and  as  soon  as  able  they  took  to  the  oar,  becoiiiiiiif 
ex})ort  oarsmen.  Language  would  inaderpialely  express  the  triumph  of  the 
vounffster  who  landed  in  his  native  town  after  having  struck  his  first  wiialc. 
The  Indian  who  proudly  exhibits  his  first  scalp  could  not  rival  him.  Tiuis  it 
ha))pens  that  you  sujipose  every  man  in  Nantucket  can  handle  the  harpoon, 
and  every  woman  the  oar.  Xor  was  it  in  whaling  battles  alone  thai  tlii.' 
island  prowess  made  itself  famous.  Reuben  Chase,  midshipman  of  {ho  . Bonne 
Jfohiine  Ilk-hard  in  the  battle  with  the  tSenipis,  became,  under  ]Mr.  Cooper's 
liand,Long  Tom  Coffin  of  "The  Pilot." 

The  lievolution  was  near  giving  the  death-blow  to  Xantucket.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1 775,  Lord  North  brought  in  his  famous  bill  to  restrain  the  trade  and 
commerce  of  New  PJngland  with  Great  Britain  and  her  dependencies,  ami  to 
prohibit  their  fishery  on  the  Hanks  of  Newfoundland."  It  was  represented 
to  Parliament  that  of  the  ])()pulation  of  tlie  isiaiuls,  amounting  to  some  thon- 
sands,  nine-tenliis  were  (Quakers;  that  the  land  was  !)arren,  ImiI  by  astoiiisli- 
ing  industry  one  hundred  and  forty  vessels  \vere  kept  employed,  of  which  all 
but  eight  were  engaged  in  the  whale-fishery.'' 

The  inhabitants  having  been  exemjjted  "rom  the  restraining  act  of  Parlia- 
ment, the  Continental  Congress,  in  1775,  took  steps  to  ()revent  the  e.vporl  of 
provisions  to  the  island  from  the  main-land,  except  what  nught  be  necesMuy 
tor  domestic  \ise.  The  Provincial  Congress  of  ^Massachusetts  also  proliibilcd 
the  export  of  provisions  until  fidl  satisfaction  was  given  tliat  they  were  not 
to  be  used  for  foreign  consumption.''  These  precautions  were  necessary,  ho- 
cause  the  enemy's  ships  made  the  island  a  rendezvous. 


'  Nantucket  in  1744  had  forty  sloops  and  scliooners  in  tlie  whnle-fi.sliery.  Tlie  tatih  was  seven 
tlionsand  to  ten  tiiousand  barrels  of  oil  per  annum.  There  were  nine  hundred  Indians  on  tin  isl- 
and of  t;reat  use  in  the  fishery. — Douglass,  vol.  i.,  p.  M)'i. 

'  State  ]iaptrs.  '  Uordon,  v(d.  i.,  p.  46;).  *  Itecords  of  Congress. 


NANTUCKET. 


335 


U  of  Congress. 


S(>ino  stigma  lias  attaclied  to  tlie  Xaiituckot  Friends  for  their  want  of 
|)atrii»tisni  in  tlie  Itevohition.  Tliey  were  pcrliaps  in  too  great  liaste  to  ap- 
|ily  li>r  tlie  protection  of  the  crown  to  suit  tlie  temper  of  the  day.  Justice 
to  their  position  requires  the  impartial  historian  to  state  that  they  were  at 
the  iiien.y  of  tlie  enemy's  fleets.  Tliey  were  virtually  left  to  shift  for  thetn- 
silves,  and  ought  not  to  he  censured  for  making  the  best  terms  possible. 
At  tlie  close  of  hostilities  their  commerce  was,  in  fact,  nearly  destroys  •'.. 
Starved  by  their  friends,  now  become  their  enemies,  and  robbed  by  their 
(.luiiiies,  of  whom  they  had  sought  to  make  friends,  they  were  in  danger  of 
king  ground  between  the  upper  and  nether  millstones  of  a  hard  destiny. 

1  well  enough  remember  the  flrst  sight  I  had  of  whale  -  ships  on  their 
cniising-grouiids ;  of  the  watchmen  in  their  tubs  at  the  mast-iiead,  where 
they  looked  like  strange  bii'ds  in  strange  nests;  and  of  the  great  whales  that 
rose  to  breathe,  casting  fountains  of  spray  high  in  the  air.  They  seemed  not 
iiioiv  animated  than  the  black  hull  of  a  vessel  drifting  bottom-up,  and  roll- 
iii<4  lazily  from  side  to  side,  until,  burying  their  huge  heads  deeper,  a  monster 
tail  was  lifted  into  view,  remained  an  instant  motionless,  and  then,  following 
iho  rolling  plunge  of  the  unwieldy  body,  sunk  majestically  beneath  the  wave. 

The  curious  Interest  with  which,  from  the  deck  of  a  matter-of-fact  stenm- 
sliip,  1  had  watched  the  indolent  gambols  and  puflings  of  the  school,  had 
caused  me  to  lose  sight  of  the  whaleman,  until  an  extraordniary  commotion 
recalled  her  to  my  attention,  IMocks  were  rattling,  commands  quick  and 
sliarp  were  ringing  out,  and  I  could  plainly  see  the  splash  that  followed  the 
descent  of  the  boats  into  the  water.  Away  they  went,  the  ashen  blades 
bending  like  withes  with  the  energy  and  vina  of  the  stroke.  Erect  in  the 
stern,  his  ai'ms  bared  to  the  shoulder,  his  body  inclined  forward  like  a  bend- 
ed bow,  was  the  boat-steerer.  I  fancied  I  could  hear  his  voice  and  see  his 
•lesturcs  as  he  shook  his  clenched  list  in  the  faces  of  the  boat's  crew.  This 
was  the  boat-steerer's  speech  : 

"Now,  boys,  give  it  to  her;  lay  back  hard  '  Spring  /utnl,  T  tell  you  ! 
Till  IV  she  blows!  lireak  your  V)acks,  you  duft'-eaters !  Put  me  right  on  top 
I'f  that  whale,  boys  !  There  she  is,  boys  —  a  beauty!  One  more  lift,  and 
liuiva  for  Nantucket  bar!" 

.M'tcr  a  weary  and  fruitless  chase — for  the  whales  had  sounded — we  were 
hoarded  by  the  mate's  boat,  and  requested  to  report  thei'-  vessel.  I  gazed 
with  real  curiosity  .at  its  crew.  Every  man  had  a  l)aiMla!ia  handkerchief 
iHiMiid  titrhtly  about  his  head.  Faces,  chests,  and  arms  were  the  ct)lor  of  old 
mahogany  well  oiled.  They  were  then  two  years  out,  they  said,  and  inqrired 
anxiously  for  news  from  the  "States."  They  neither  know  who  was  I'resi- 
dent,  nor  of  the  war  raging  between  the  great  powtrs  of  Europe,  and  were 
tliankliil  for  the  old  newspapers  that  we  tossed  to  them.  At  length  they 
lowxd  ofl',  cutting  tlieir  way  through  the  v.ater  with  a  powerful  stroke,  their 
boat  mounting  the  seas  like  an  egg-shell. 


336 


THE  NEW   ENGLAND  COAST, 


An  ancient  salt  witli  wlioin  I  talked  in  Nantucket  spoke  of  tlie  disappear- 
ance of  the  whales,  and  of  their  turninj^  up  in  new  and  unexpected  waters. 
From  the  beginniiijj^  of  the  century  until  the  decline  of  the  fishery,  vessels 
usually  made  a  straiuht  course  i'ov  Cape  Horn;  but  of  late  years,  whales,  lio 
said,  had  re-appeared  in  the  Atlantic,  making  their  way,  it  is  believed,  throuLtli 
the  North-west  Passage.  Whales  with  har])oons  sticking  in  them  having  the 
names  of  vessels  that  had  entered  the  Arctic  by  way  of  Hehring's  Straits 
have  been  taken  by  other  ships  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  continent. 

"When  I  first  went  whaling,"  (pioth  he,  "  you  might  wake  up  of  a  morn- 
ing in  the  Sea  of  .Japan  with  iifty  sail  of  whalemen  in  sight.  A  fish  darsciit 
(durst  not)  show  his  head  :  some  ship  would  take  liim." 

"I  have  gone  on  deck  off  the  Cape  of  Good  lIoj)e,"  lie  continued,  "  wlu'ii 
we  hadn't  a  bar'l  of  ih;  in  the  ship,  an'  the  whales  nearly  blowin'  on  us  out  o' 
the  water.     We  took  in  twelve  hundred  bar'Is  afore  we  put  out  the  fires." 

Now,  though  they  burn  coal-oil  in  Nantucket,  I  believe  they  would  pre- 
fer sperm.  You  could  not  convince  an  islander  that  the  discovery  of  oil  in 
the  coal-fields  was  any  thing  to  his  advantage;  nor  would  he  waste  words 
with  you  about  the  law  of  compensations.  A  few,  I  was  told,  still  cling  to 
the  idea  of  a  revival  in  tlie  whale-fishery,  but  the  greater  number  regard  it  as 
clean  gone.  I  confess  to  a  weakness  for  oil  of  sperm  myself.  There  are  tli<j 
recollections  of  a  shining  row  of  brazen  and  pewter  lamps  on  the  mantel,  the 
despair  of  house-maids.  In  eoal-oil  there  is  no  poetry;  Shaks])eai'e  and  Milton 
did  not  study,  nor  Ben  Jonson  rhyme,  by  it.  Na])oleon  did  not  dictate  nor 
Nelson  die  by  the  light  of  it.  Nowadays  there  are  no  lanterns,  no  torclics, 
worthy  the  name. 

As  there  is  not  enough  depth  of  water  on  Nantucket  bar  for  large  ships. 
Edgartown  Harbor  was  formerly  resorted  to  V)y  the  whalemen  of  this  island, 
to  obtain  fresh  water  and  fit  their  ships  for  sea.  If  they  returned  from  a 
voyage  in  winter,  they  were  obliged  to  discharge  their  cargoes  into  lighters 
at  Edgartown  before  they  could  enter  Nantucket  Harbor.  One  of  the  Nan- 
tucket steeples  was  constructed  with  a  lookout  commanding  the  whole  island, 
from  which  the  watchman  might,  it  is  said,  with  a  glass,  distinguish  vessels 
belonging  here  that  occasionally  came  to  anchor  at  Martha's  Vineyard. 

In  time  a  huge  floating  dock  that  coidd  be  submerged,  called  a  caiiicl, 
was  employed  to  bring  vessels  over  the  bar.  After  going  on  its  knees  and 
taking  the  ship  on  its  back,  the  camel  was  ])um])ed  free  of  water,  when  hcttli 
came  into  port.  These  machines  are  not  of  Yankee  invention.  They  were 
originated  by  the  celebrated  De  Witt,  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  large  ves- 
sels from  Amsterdam  over  the  Pampus,  They  wero  also  introduced  into 
Russia  by  Peter  the  Great,  who  had  obtained  their  model  while  working  as  a 
common  shipwright  in  Holland.  As  invcnteil,  the  camel  was  composcMJ  ot 
two  separate  parts,  each  having  a  concave  side  to  embrace  the  ship's  liull,  to 
which  it  was  fastened  with  stronir  cables. 


NAN'rucKi-yr. 


33: 


tlie  (lisaitpcnr- 

ishery,  vessels 
[irs,  whaU's,  lie 
ieved,  tliroiuj;li 
otu  liaviiijj;  the- 
hriiig's  Slniits 
iiioiit. 

up  of  a  Tiiorn- 
A  fish  daiseiit 

itinned, "  when 
u'  on  us  out  0' 
it  the  fires." 
Iiey  wouM  pre- 
iovery  of  oil  in 
le  waste  words 
d,  still  cling  to 
l)er  regard  it  as 

There  are  tlii' 
the  mantel,  tlu; 
oare  and  Milton 
not  dictate  nor 

ns,  no  torches, 

or  large  ships, 
of  this  island, 
turned  from  a 
OS  into  liglitevs 
no  of  the  Nan- 
10  wliole  island, 
ingnish  vessels 
ineyard. 
•ailed  a  camel, 
its  knees  and 
ter,  when  l>otli 
n.     They  were 
•ying  large  ves- 
ntroduceil  into 
Te  working  as  a 
Is  composed  ot 
le  ship's  hull,  to 


I 


The  harbors  of  Edgartown,  New  London,  and  New  Iknlford,  not  being 
snhjeet  to  the  inconvenience  of  a  bar  before  them,  flourislied  to  some  xtent 
at  the  expense  of  Nantucket ;  but  all  these  ports  have  shared  a  common  fate. 
The  gold  fever  of  1849  broke  out  when  whaling  was  at  its  ebb,  and  then 
scores  of  whale -ships  for  the  last  time  doubled  Cape  Horn.  Officers  ami 
men  drifted  into  other  employments,  or  continued  to  ibllow  the  sea  in  some 
less  dangerous  service.  They  were  considered  the  best  sailoi's  in  the  world, 
Iremendjer  one  athletic  Islesman,  a  second-mate,  who  quelled  a  mutiny  single- 
luinded  with  sledgediammer  blows  of  Ins  fist.  When  his  captain  ap])eared 
on  deck  with  a  brace  of  ))istols,  the  affray  was  over.  The  ringleader  bore 
the  marks  of  a  terrible  punishment.      "  Y'ou've  a  heavy  liand,  Mr.  ]31ank," 

said  C"aj)tain   G ,       '•  I'm   a  Nantucket   whaleman,  and    used   to   a   long 

durl." 

At  tlie  Nantticket  Athenfeum  are  exhibited  some  relics  of  wliaii  and 
whaling,  of  which  all  true  islanders  love  so  well  to  talk.  The  jaw-bone  of  a 
sperm-whale  may  there  be  seen.  It  wotdd  have  made  Samson  a  better  weap- 
on than  the  one  he  used  with  such  effect  against  the  Philistines,  This  whale 
stores  the  spermaceti  in  his  cheek.  You  can  compress  the  oil  from  it  with 
the  hand,  as  fiom  honey-comb.  What  is  called  the  "case"  is  contained  in 
the  reservoir  he  carries  in  his  head,  from  which  barrels  of  it  are  sometimes 
dipped.  What  does  he  want  with  it?  Or  is  it,  mayhap,  a  softening  of  his 
great,  sluggish  brain? 

The  trememlons  power  the  wliale  is  able  to  put  ^'orth  when  enraged  is 
ilhistratod  by  the  tale  of  a  collision  with  one  tliat  resulted  in  the  loss  of  the 
ship  J'J!<tiC.r,  of  Nantucket,  On  the  l;3th  of  November,  1S20,  the  ship  was 
among  wliales,  and  three  boats  were  lowered,  A  young  whale  was  taken. 
Shortly  after,  another  of  great  size,  supposed  to  liave  been  the  dam  of  the  one 
just  killed,  came  against  the  ship  with  such  violence  as  to  teai"  away  part  of 
the  false  keel.  It  then  remained  some  time  alongside,  endeavoring  to  grip 
tlie  ship  in  its  jaws ;  but,  failing  to  make  any  impression,  swam  off  about  a 
(piarter  of  a  mile,  when,  suddenly  turning  about,  it  came  with  tremendous 
velocity  toward  the  J'Jssex.  The  concussion  not  only  stop))ed  the  vesseTs 
way,  but  actually  forced  her  astern.  Every  man  on  deck  was  knocked  down. 
The  bows  were  completely  stove.  In  a  few  minutes  the  vessel  filknl  and 
went  (Ml  her  beam-ends. 

Near  one  of  the  [)rincipal  wharves  is  the  Custom-house.  It  is  situated  at 
the  bottom  of  the  square  already  referred  to,  of  whiidi  the  Pacitic  Bank, 
estaldished  in  1805,  occupies  the  upper  end,  the  sides  being  bordered  by 
f'hops.  The  first-floor  of  the  Custom-house  is  used  by  a  club  of  retired  ship- 
masters, in  which  they  meet  to  recount  the  i)erils  and  recall  the  spoils  of 
wluiiiiig  battles. 

We  are  told  by  Macy,  the  historian  of  the  islaiul,  that  "  the  iidiabitants 
live  together  like  one  great  family.     They  not  only  know  their  nearest  neigh- 

22 


.^38 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


bors,  but  each  one  knows  tlio  rest.  Tfyoii  wisli  to  see  any  man,  you  need  hut 
ask  the  first  inliabilant  you  meet,  and  he  will  be  able  to  conduet  you  U>  liis 
residence,  to  tell  you  what  occupation  he  is  of",  etc.,  etc."  If  one  house  en- 
tertained a  stranger,  the  neighbors  would  send  in  whatever  luxuries  tlioy 
might  have.  Alter  a  lapse  of  nearly  forty  years,  1  found  ^lacy's  account 
still  true.  All  questionings  were  answered  with  civility  and  directness,  am!, 
as  if  that  were  not  enough,  persons  volunteered  to  go  out  of  their  way  to 
conduct  me.  In  a  v.ha'.ing  port  there  is  no  cod-fish  aristocracy.  Thackerav 
could  not  have  found  materials  for  his  "  Dook  of  Snobs"  in  Nantucket,  thoiii-ii, 
if  rumor  may  be  believed,  a  few  of  the  genus  are  dropping  in  from  the  main- 
land. 

I  observed  nothing  peculiar  about  the  principal  centre  of  trado,  except  the 
manner  of  selling  meat,  vegetables,  etc.  When  the  butchers  :ccu-iiulaio  an 
overstock  of  any  article  they  dispose  of  it  by  auction,  the  to  >  u-ci'Jer  heiiiij 
dispatched  to  summon  the  inhabitants,  greeting. 

This  functionary  I  met,  swelling  with  importance,  but  a  trifle  blown  from 
the  frequent  sounding  of  his  clarion,  to  wit,  a  japanned  fish-horn.  J*Iet  him, 
did  I  say?  I  beg  the  indulgence  of  the  reader.  Whei'ever  I  wandered  in  niv 
rambles,  he  Avas  sure  to  turn  the  corner  just  ahead  of  me,  or  to  spring  from 
the  covert  of  some  blind  alley.  Tie  was  one  of  those  who,  ^Facy  says,  know- 
all  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  islajid ;  me  he  knew  for  a  stranger.  He  stopiu'il 
short.  First  he  wound  a  terrific  blast  of  his  horn.  Toot,  toot,  toot,  it  echooil 
down  the  street,  like  the  discoi'cliint  braying  of  a  donkey.  This  he  followed 
with  lusty  ringing  of  a  large  dinner-bell,  peal  on  peal,  until  I  was  ready  to 
exclaim  with  the  Moor, 

"Silence  that  dreailful  belli  it  frights  the  isle 
From  her  propriety." 

Then,  placing  the  fish-horn  under  his  arm,  and  taking  the  bell  by  the  tongue, 
lie  delivered  himself  of  his  formula.  I  am  not  likely  to  Ibrget  it:  "Two  boat; 
a  day  I  liurgess's  meat  auction  this  evening  !  Corned  beef!  lioston  Theatre, 
positively  last  night  this  evening  !" 

lie  was  gone,  and  I  heard  bell  and  horn  in  the  next  street,  lie  was  the 
life  of  Nantucket  while  I  was  there;  the  only  inhabitant  I  saw  moving  faster 
than  a  moderate  walk.  They  said  he  had  been  a  soldier,  discharged,  hy  his 
own  account,  for  being  ^^  no?i  co»?;)o.s',"  or  something  of  the  sort.  I  doubt 
there  is  any  thing  the  matter  with  his  lungs,  or  that  his  wits  are,  "like  sweet 
bells  jangled,  out  of  tune  and  harsh  ;"  yet  of  his  fish-horn  I  would  say, 

"O  would  I  might  turn  poet  for  nn  houre, 
To  satiiize  with  n  viiuliciive  i)oweie 
Against  tlie  blower!'' 

The  history  of  Nantucket  is  not  involved  in  obscurity,  though  Dr.  Morse, 


NANTUCKET. 


339 


ill  liis  Gazetteer,  printotl  in  1793,  says  no  mention  is  nuule  ot'tlio  discovery  and 
setlk'uient  of  tlie  island,  under  its  present  name,  by  any  of  our  historians.  Its 
settlement  by  Englisli  goes  no  further  l)ack  tlian  1G59,  when  Thomas  jNIaoy' 
rt'iiioved  i'rom  Salisbury,  in  ]Massachusetts,  to  tlie  west  end  of  the  island,  called 
liy  the  Indians  INIaddequet,  a  name  still  retained  by  the  harbor  and  fishing 
liaiiil<t  there.  Edward  Starbuck,  James  Coffin,  and  another  of  the  name  of 
Diigct,  or  Daggett,  came  over  from  Martha's  Vineyard,  it  is  said,  for  the  sake 
of  tlie  gunning,  and  lived  with  ^laey.  At  that  time  there  were  nearly  three 
thousand  Indians  on  tlie  island. 

Nantucket  annals  show  what  kind  of  sailors  may  be  made  of  Quakers. 
The  illustration  is  not  unique.  In  the  same  year  that  Macy  came  to  the  isl- 
and a  ship  wholly  manned  by  them  wont  from  Newfoundland  to  Lisbon  with 
tish.  Some  of  them  much  affronted  the  Portuguese  whom  they  met  in  the 
streets  by  not  taking  otf  their  hats  to  salute  them.  If  the  gravity  of  tlio 
matter  had  not  been  the  subject  of  a  state  paper  I  sliould  not  have  known  it." 

Xantucket  and  ^Martha's  Vineyard  were  not  included  in  either  of  the  four 
New  England  governments.  All  the  islands  between  Cape  Cod  and  Hudson 
liiver  were  claimed  by  the  Earl  of  Sterling.  In  1041  a  deed  was  passed  to 
Thomas  ^layhew,  of  ^Martha's  Vineyard,  by  James  Forett,  agent  of  the  earl, 
and  IJichard  Vines,  the  steward  of  Sir  F.  Gorges,  The  island,  until  the  ac- 
cession of  William  and  ]Mary,  was  considered  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Xew 
York,  though  we  liiid  the  deed  to  Mayhew  reciting  that  the  _government  to 
lie  there  established  by  him  and  his  associates  sliould  be  such  as  was  then 
existing  in  Massachusetts,  with  the  same  privileges  granted  by  the  patent  of 
that  colony.  In  1059  jNIayhew  conveyed  to  the  associates  mentioned  in  his 
deed,  nine  in  number,  equal  portions  of  his  grant,  after  reserving  to  himself 
Masqiutuck  Neck,  or  Qnaise.'  The  consideration  was  thirty  pounds  of  lawful 
money  and  two  beaver  hats,  one  for  himself,  and  one  for  his  wife.  The  first 
meeting  of  the  proprietors  was  held  at  Salisbury,  Massachusetts,  in  September 


ough  Dr.  Morse, 


'  Of  Mucy  it  is  known  tliat  ho.  fleil  from  the  rigorous  persecution  of  the  Quakers  by  the  govern- 
ment of  .Massachusetts  15ay.  The  i)cnaities  were  orciiiiaiilv  croiiiiiiig  tlic  ears,  liramling  witii  an 
iron,  scourging,  the  pillory,  or  banishment.  Tliese  cruelties,  barbarous  as  they  were,  were  merely 
tioriowcd  from  tlie  England  of  that  day,  where  the  sect,  saving  capital  ])unislnnent,  was  ])ersecuted 
"itiias  great  rigor  as  it  ever  was  in  tlie  colonies.  The  death-penalty  inflicted  in  the  IJay  Colony 
lironght  the  aflairs  of  the  Friends  to  the  notice  of  the  reigning  king.  Thereafter  they  were  toler- 
iiled;  I)iit  as  persecution  ceased  the  sect  dwindled  away,  and  in  New  England  it  is  not  numerous. 
The  Friends'  poet  sings  of  Macy,  the  outcast : 

"Far  round  the  l)!e!ik  and  stormy  Cape 
Tlie  vcnt'i-ons  Mncy  piipscfl, 
And  on  Naiitucket'H  nnkcd  isle 
Drew  up  his  bout  at  laft." 
'Thurloe,  vol.  v..  p.  422. 

''I'ljL'  nine  were  Tristram  Coffin,  Thomas  Macy,  (/hristophcr  Ilussey,  Richard  vSwnin,  Thomas 
Riirnard.  Teter  Coffin,  Stephen  Greenleaf,  Jolin  Swain,  and  William  Pile,  wiio  afterward  sold  liis 
'enth  to  liiclmrd  Swnin, 


;i40 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


of  the  same  year  (1G50),  at  wliieli  time  ten  other  persons  were  adinittcil  part' 
ners,'  eiihinjfiiig  the  whole  number  of  i)roi)rietors  to  nineteen.  Alter  the  re- 
moval to  the  island,  the  number  was  further  increased  to  twenty-seven  by  tliu 
ndmission  of  llieliard  and  Jose])]!  (lardiner,  Joseph  Colem.iH,  William  Worili, 
Peter  and  Kleazer  Fo]o;or,  Samuel  Stretor,  and  Nathaniel  Wier. 

The  KiiL;lish  settlers  in  IGOO  obtained  a  contirmalion  of  their  title  IVom 
the  sachems  Wanaekmamack  and  Nickaiioose,  with  certain  reservations  to 
the  Indian  inhabitants,  drivinjj;,  as  usual,  a  hard,  un<j;enerous  bargain,  as  tlii.' 
Indians  learned  when  too  late.  In  1700  their  grievances  were  communieatiMl 
by  the  Earl  of  Ijelloniont,  then  governor,  to  the  crown.  Their  greatest 
complaint  was,  that  the  English  hail  by  calculation  stripped  them  of  tlir 
melius  of  keeping  cattle  or  live  stock  of  any  kind,  even  on  their  reserviMi 
lands,  by  means  of  concessions  they  did  not  comprehend.  At  that  time  tlic 
Indians  had  been  decimati'il,  luimberiug  fewer  than  four  hundred,  while  thi.' 
whites  had  increased  to  eight  humlred  souls.  The  mortality  of  1  7(3:5  wasted 
the  few  remaining  Indians  to  a  handfid.^  In  1791  there  were  but  foiu-  iiiale> 
and  sixteen  females.  Abraham  (Juady,  the  last  survivor,  died  within  a  leu- 
years. 

The  choice  of  the  island  by  ^Facy  is  accounted  for  by  the  foregoing  faets, 
doubtless  within  his  knowledge,  as  many  of  the  original  proprietors  wore  his 
townsmen. 

Thomas  Mayhew  ought  to  be  considered  one  of  the  fathers  of  English  set- 
tlement in  New  England.  lie  was  of  Watertown,  in  ^lassachusetts,  and  I 
])resume  the  same  person  mentioned  by  Drake,  in  his  "Founders,"  as  desirous 
of  passing,  in  1037,  into  "tf'oraigne  partes."  He  is  styled  ]\Ir.  Thomas  May- 
hew,  Gent.,  a  title  raising  him  above  the  rank  of  trailesmen,  artificers,  and  tlie 
like,  who  were  not  then  considered  gentlemen;  nor  is  this  distinction  nuicli 
weakened  at  the  [jresent  day  in  England.  Mayhew  received  his  grant  of 
Nantucket  and  two  small  islands  adjoining  in  October,  lG41,aml  on  the  23d 
of  the  same  month,  of  Martha's  Vineyard  and  the  Elizabeth  Islands.  Tlii' 
younger  Mayhew,  who,  Mather  says,  settled  at  the  Vineyard  in  1042,  seems  to 
have  devoted  himself  to  the  conversion  ot"the  Indians  with  the  zeal  of  a  mis- 
sionary.^ In  1057  be  was  drowned  at  sea,  the  ship  in  which  he  had  sailed  t'oi' 
England  never  having  been  heard  from.  He  was  taking  with  him  one  uf  the 
Vineyard  Indians,  with  the  hope  of  awakening  an  interest  in  their  |)roc;iv^'^ 
toward  Christianity.  Jonathan  Mayhew,  the  celebrated  divine,  was  of  this 
stock. 

The  first  settlement  at  Maddequet  Harbor  was  abandoned  after  a  nimv 


'  Jolm  Siuiili,  NMtliiiniel  StiiilMick,  Edward  Stailmck,  Tliomns  Look,  l{ol)ert  Baniurd.  Jiinics 
Coffin,  Rohert  I'ike,  'rristiaiii  ("ollin,  .tun.,  'riioiiias  Cnlemaii,  and  John  Bislio]). 

'  Of  tlirec  liundicd  and  fifty-eight  Indians  alive  in  IHhI,  two  iiuiidied  and  twenty-two  died  I')' 
tlie  distetniicr. 

'  liiittdiinson. 


NANTUCKET. 


341 


tliovonah  kno\vk'(l,2;e  of  tlio  island  and  the  acocssion  of  wliite  iiihabitanls.  Tlic 
south  side  of  tlic  i)rc'soiit  harbor  was  iirst  suloctcd  ;  but  its  iiiconvfuienco  being 
soon  fi'lt,  the  town  was  hicatcd  wlioro  it  now  is.  IJy  instruction  of  (lovcrnov 
Fr.uiois  Lovelace  it  received,  in  1073,  the  name  of  Sherburne,  changed  in  1795 
to  the  more  ianiiliar  one  of  Nantucket. 

The  town  stands  nc.'ir  the  centre  of  the  island,  the  place  having  formerly 
been  known  by  the  Indian  name  of  "  Wosko,"  signifying  "NVliite  Stone.  This, 
stone,  wliich  lay,  like  the  rock  of  the  Pilgrims,  on  the  liarbor  shore,  was  in 
time  covered  by  a  wharf.  Tlie  blutf  at  the  west  of  the  town  still  retains  tlie 
iiamo  of  Shcrbiiiiie.     I  found  the  oldest  liouses  at  the  extremities  of  the  town. 


Icrs  "  as  desirous 


lartiticers,  and  the 
distinction  much 
,-od  his  grant  of 


lin  1042,  seems  to 
I  he  zeal  of  a  mis- 
Ihe  had  saik'd  for 
[h  him  one  of  the 
in  their  |iro<j;ross 
livine,  was  of  tli'^ 


'.ed  after  a  moiv 


lol)evt  Baiiiiin 


d  twentv-two  dica 


E.  .JOHNSON  S   STIDIO,  N AM'ICKHT. 


Another  of  the  original  j>ro))rietors  is  remembered  with  lionor  by  tlie  isl- 
anders. Peter  Folger  was  looke<l  up  to  as  a  superior  sort  of  man.  He  was 
so  well  versed  in  the  Indian  tongue  that  his  name  is  often  found  on  the  deeds 
from  the  ratives.  The  mother  of  IJenjamin  Franklin  was  the  daughter  of 
Folger.  They  do  not  forget  it.  The  name  of  Peter  Folger  is  still  contin- 
ued, and  family  relics  of  interest  are  preserved  by  the  descendants  of  the 
first  I'cter. 

Any  account  of  Nantucket  must  be  incomplete  tliut  omits  mention  of  Sir 
Isaac  Coffin.  Sir  Isaac  was  a  IJostonian.  His  family  weie  out-and-out  Tories 
in  the  Uevolution,  with  more  talent  than  in  general  lalls  to  the  share  of  one 


342 


TIIK  NKW  KNGLAND   (X)AST. 


lioiiseliold.  lie  w.is  ilosoeiulofl  from  an  ancient  iUniily  in  tlio  northern  ]i;irt, 
ot'Devonsiiiro,  Enj^land.  In  1773  Isaac  Coffin  was  taken  to  sea  by  Lieiiteiiiini 
Hunter,  of  the  (idxjue,  at  the  recommendation  of  .Admiral  John  MontaLriic. 
His  commaiidin<>'  otticcr  saiil  he  never  knew  any  youiiu;  man  acquire  so  niiK-h 
nautical  knowledjjje  in  so  short  a  time.  After  reachiui^  the  j>rade  of  jiost- 
ca[)taiii,  Cotfni,  for  a  breach  of  the  regulations  of  the  servicu',  was  de|»riv(M|  of 
liis  vessel,  and  Earl  Howe  struck  liis  name  from  the  list  of  post-captains.  Tliii; 
act  being  illegal,  lie  was  reinstated  in  1790.  In  1804  he  was  made  a  haronct, 
and  in  1814  became  a  full  admiral  in  the  Jiritish  navy.  One  of  his  brothers 
was  a  British  general. 

On  a  visit  to  the  United  States,  in  182G,  Sir  Isaac  came  to  Xautuekct. 
Finding  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  claimed  descent  from  his  own  geiit'ii- 
logical  tree,  he  authorized  the  purchase  of  a  building,  and  endowed  it  witli  !i 
fund  of  twenty-five  hundred  ])ounds  sterling,  for  the  establishment  of  a  school 
to  which  all  descendants  of  Tristram  C'otliu,  one  of  the  first  settlers,  should  he 
admitted.     On  one  of  his  voyages  to  America  the  admiral  suffered  shipwrcrk. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  it  is  related  that  the  admiral  made  a  visit  to  l);irt- 
moor  prison,  for  the  purpose  of  releasing  any  American  j>risoners  of  his  family 
name.  Among  others  who  presented  themselves  was  a  negro.  "Ah,"  siiiil 
title  admiral,  "  you  a  Coffin  too?"  "  Yes,  massa."  "  How  old  are  you  V"  "Mo 
thirty  years,  massa."  '"Well,  then,  you  are  not  one  of  tlie  Coffins,  for  tlicy 
never  turn  black  until  fortv." 


NANTUCKET.  — OLD    WIND.M  I  I.I.,   l.()()MN(;    (K  KANWAIU). 


Cofliiis,  for  tlioy 


niAPTEIi  XXI. 

N  A  NTICK  KT  — 00)1  til)  licd. 

Miisl<t'e{;;ct.  'riickiniiick,  Miuldcqnet, 
Siiiikoty,  C'oiitiic,  Siasconset. 

TTISTORY  is  said  to  rcpoat  itself,  and  wliy  may  not  tlic  wliak'-flsliiiioj  v 
-^-'-  Now  that  tlie  sliips  are  all  ii'oiio,  a  small  wliaU;  is  occasionally  taken  off 
the  islaiK.!,  as  in  days  of  yore.  While  I  was  at  Nantucket,  a  sdiool  of  black- 
tisli  were  j^ood  enoujvh  to  come  into  the  shallows  not  far  from  the  harbor,  and 
stuiiid  enough  to  ])ermit  themselves  to  he  taken.  The  manner  of  their  caj)- 
tmv  was  truly  an  example  of  the  triumph  of  mind  over  matter. 

When  the  school  were  discovered  near  the  shore,  the  iishernien,  ii'ettinsjj 
outside  of  them  in  their  dories,  by  liallooinii;,  sounding  of  horns,  and  other 
iKiist's,  drove  them,  like  frightened  sheep,  toward  the  beach.  As  soon  as  \.he 
Iiiuitfrs  were  in  shoal  water  tlicy  left  their  boats,  and  jumped  overboard,  urg- 
ing; the  silly  fish  on  by  outcries,  splashing  the  water,  and  blows.  ^Fen,  md 
ovt'ii  boys,  waded  \)o]dly  n]i  to  a  fish,  and  led  him  ashore  by  a  fin;  or,  if  in- 
c'liiu'(l  to  show  fight,  ])ut  their  knives  into  him.  They  cufi^ed  them,  ])ricked 
tluMu  onward,  filling  tlie  air  with  shouts,  or  with  peals  of  laughter,  as  some 
I'uisuer,  more  eager  than  i)rudent,  lost  liis  footing,  and  became  for  the  moment 
!i  iisli.  All  this  time  the  blackfish  were  Hearing  the  shore,  uttering  sounds 
closely  resembling  groanings  and  lamentations.     The  calves  kept  close  to  the 


344 


THE  NKW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


(tltl  onos,  "  s(nu!aliiiLj,"  us  one  of  the  cajjlorrt  told  iiic,  like  yoiiii<;  pi;4s.  It  \v;is 
great  sport,  not  wliolly  tree  from  danger,  for  tlie  iisli  can  strike  a  pown  tnl 
blow  with  its  flukes;  and  the  air  was  filled  with  jets  of  water  where  they  liml 
lashed  it  into  i'oani.  At  len<j[th  the  whole  school  were  landed,  even  t)  one 
]toor  calf  that  had  wandered  oil",  an<l  now  came  back  to  seek  its  dam.  Tiic 
fishernic!!,  after  putting  their  marks  upon  them,  went  up  to  town  to  coiii' 
inunicate  their  good  luck.  Sometimes  a  hundred  or  two  are  taken  at  once 
in  this  wis?,  here  or  on  the  Cape. 

The  oil  of  the  l)lackfish  is  obtaiiu-d  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  that 
of  the  whale,  of  which  it  is  a  pocket  edition.  The  blubber,  nearly  resembliiii>' 
pork-fat,  was  strippcil  off  and  taken  in  ilories  to  town.  I  saw  the  men  tossiiiir 
it  with  their  jiitclilbrks  on  the  shore,  whence  it  was  loaded  into  carts,  and  car- 
ried to  the  try-house  on  one  of  the  whai'ves.  Here  it  was  heaped  in  a  p;il|ii- 
tating  and  by  no  means  savory  mass.  ]Mcn  were  busily  engaged  in  triiiiiiiiiiif 
off  the  superfluous  flesh,  or  in  slicing  it,  with  great  knives  resembling  shingle 
froes,  into  pieces  suitable  for  the  try-pot;  and  still  others  were  tossing  it  into 
tlie  smoking  caldron. 

liut  if  wlwles  arc  getting  scarce  round  about  Nantucket,  the  blne-tisli  is 
still  i)lenty.  This  gamest  and  most  delicious  of  salt-water  fish  is  notcil  tor 
its  strength,  voracity,  and  grit.  lie  is  a  very  pirate  among  fish,  making  prey 
of  all  alik'>.  Cod,  haddock,  mackerel,  or  tautog,  are  glad  to  get  out  of  liis 
May;  the  smaller  fry  he  chases  among  the  surf-waves  of  the  shore,  uuicli  as 
the  fishermen  ])ursue  the  blacktish.  Where  the  bhie-tish  abounds  you  need 
not  try  for  other  sort:  he  is  lord  high  admiral  of  the  tinny  tribes. 

This  fish  lias  a  curious  history.  Before  the  year  1703,  in  whicli  the  great 
pestilence  occurred  among  the  Indians  of  the  island,  and  from  the  first  eoiiiiii!,' 
of  the  Indians  to  Nantucket,  a  large,  fat  fish,  called  the  blue-fish,  thirty  of 
which  would  fill  a  barrel,  was  caught  in  great  plenty  all  around  the  island, 
from  the  1st  of  July  to  the  middle  of  October.  It  was  remarked  that  in 
1704,  the  year  in  which  the  sickness  ended,  they  disappeared,  and  were  uol 
again  seen  until  about  fifty  years  ago.' 

It  was  a  delicious  afternoon  that  I  set  sail  for  the  "Opening,"  as  it  is  called, 
between  Nantucket  and  Tuckamick,'  an  appanage  of  the  former,  and  one  of 
the  five  islands  constituting  the  county  of  Nantucket.  The  tide  runs  with 
such  swiftness  that  the  boatmen  do  not  venture  through  the  Opening  except 
with  ])lenty  of  wind,  and  of  the  right  sort.  With  a  stiff  breeze  blowing,  tlic 
breakers  are  superb,  especially  when  wind  and  tide  are  battling  with  each 
other.  With  the  wind  blowing  freshly  over  these  shallow  waters,  it  does 
not  take  long  for  the  seas  to  assume  proportions  simply  appalling  to  a  laiuls- 


'  Z.ieelieiis  Miicy,  in  his  account  of  tlie  island,  written  in  17'J2,  says  none  had  been  taken  up  to 
tluu  time — "a  great  loss  to  the  islanders."' 

''  The  Indian  name  Tuckamiek  siyuilies  a  loaf  of  bread. 


NANTUCKI-yr. 


345 


j)i;jfs.  It  \v:iH 
ke  ii  ])0\Vi'rriil 
'liore  iIk'V  liuil 
(1,  cvrn  l'>  diK' 
ils  (liim.     Till' 

town  to  coiib 
taken  at  once 

niiiincr  as  that 
irly  rt'sc'inblinc; 
lie  men  tossiiijr 
»  carts,  and  ciiv- 
ijK'd  in  a  iLiljii- 
eil  in  triiMiiiiiiif 
inblin!^  sliiiiglo' 
!  tossing  it,  into 

the  bhu'-tisli  is 

ish  is  noted  tor 

di,  making  pn-y 

get  ont  of  lii> 

shore,  luiu-li  as 

)nnds  you  neucl 

)es. 

hid  I  tiie  great 

le  first  ooniiirj; 

dish,  thirty  of 

uid  tlie  island, 

narked  that  in 

and  were  not 

"  as  it  is  eallt'cl, 
ner,  and  one  of 
tide  runs  witli 
)liening  exeepl 
/.(■  bk)wirig,  tlic 
ling  with  each 
waters,  it  decs 
ling  to  a  lands- 
id  been  taken  up  to 


man.      It  was  a  inagniHeent   sight  ! 

(ireat  waves  erected  themselves  into 

solid    walls    of  green,  advancing  -it 

tirst  majestically,  then  rushing  with 

increased     momentum     across     our 

course   to  crash  in    clouds  of  foam 

ii|ion  the  opposite  shore.     It  needs  a   - 

skillful  boatman  at  tlie  hebn.     What  with  the  big  seas,  the  seething  tide-rij)s, 

and  the  scanty  sea-room,  the  sail  is  of  itself  sufHciently  exciting. 

Ihit  the  fishing,  what  of  thatV  AVe  cast  our  lines  over  the  stern,  and,  as 
llio  boat  was  going  at  a  great  pace,  they  were  straightened  out  in  a  trice. 
At  the  end  of  each  was  a  wicked -looking  hook  of  large  size,  having  a 
leaden  sinker  run  tipon  the  shank  of  it.  Over  this  hoid<,  called  by  the  tish- 
iMiuen  hereabouts  a  "drail,"  an  eel-skir,  was  drawn,  though  I  liave  known 
the  blue -fish  to  bite  well  at  a  simple  ])iecc  of  canvas  or  leather.  Away 
hounded  the  boat,  while  we  stood  braced  in  the  standing-room  to  meet  her 
])lungiiig.  Twenty  fathoms  with  a  ]»ound  of  lead  at  the  end  seems  fifty, 
at  least,  witli  your  boat  rushing  headlong  under  all  she  can  bear.  Half 
an  acre  of  smooth  water  wholly  nnrnftied  is  just  aliead.  "I'm  going  to 
pnt  you  right  into  that  slick,"  said  our  helmsman.  "Now  look  out  for  a 
big  one." 

I  felt  a  dead  weight  at  my  line.  At  the  end  of  it  a  shining  object  leaped. 
clear  fiom  the  water  and  fell,  with  a  loud  plash,  a  yard  in  advance.  Now, 
haul  in  steadily;  don't  be  flurried;  but,  above  all,  mind  your  line  does  not 
slacken.  I  lost  one  splendid  fellow  by  too  great  j)recipitation.  The  line  is 
as  rigid  as  steel  wire,  and,  if  your  hands  are  tendei-,  cuts  deep  into  the  flesh. 
Ah!  he  is  now  near  enough  to  see  the  boat.  How  he  plunges  and  tries  to 
turn  !  lie  makes  the  water  boil,  and  the  line  fairly  sing.  I  had  as  lief  try  to 
hold  an  old  hunter  in  a  steeple-chase.  Ha!  here  you  are,  my  captive,  under 
the  counter;  and  now  I  lift  you  carefidly  over  the  gunwale.     I  enjoin  on  the 


J 


340 


TIIK  NKAV  KNGLANl)  COAST. 


iiu'xporli'iiccil  to  l)p  HUic  tlii'y  laiul  a  fish  in  tlio  bout,  ami  not  lose  one,  as  1 
(lid,  by  throw iiiji;  liiin  on  the  jjfiinwali'. 

Thi'  iisli  shows  fij,'ht  uIUt  he  is  in  iho  tnb,  slmttinj^  his  jaws  with  a  vicious 
Hliap  as  he  is  bciiiij^  niih(mk(<l.  Look  out  lor  him;  ho  can  bite,  ami  sh:n'|ilv 
too.  Tiic  bliK'-lisli  is  not  unlike  tiie  sahiion  in  looks  and  in  action.  lie  is  lin- 
nislietl  witli  a  backbone  ol" steel,  and  is  younger  brother  to  the  shark. 

I  looked  over  my  Nhonhler.  iMy  companion,  a  cool  hand  ordinarily,  was 
enj^at^ed  in  hanling  in  his  line  with  ailcctcMl  nonchalance;  but  comiircsscil 
lips,  stern  eye,  and  riijjid  linui'e  said  otherwise.  'JMiere  is  a  ([uick  Hasli  in  lliu 
water,  and  in  comes  the  fis'i.     "  Ki<;lit-|-onnder,"  says  the  boatman. 


TIIK   nMK-KISH. 


These  "  slicks"  are  not  the  least  curious  feature  of  blue-fishinij.     The  H 


>ii 


seems  to  have  the  ability  to  exude  an  oil,  by  which  he  calms  the  water  so  thai 
he  may,  in  a  way,  look  about  liim,  showing  himself  in  this  an  ade[)t  in  apply- 
ing a  well-known  principle  iu  hydrostatics.  A  perceptible  odor  arises  lioiii 
tlie  slicks,  so  that  the  boatmen  will  often  say,  "  I  smell  blue-fish." 

The  boatman  steered  among  the  tide-ri))s,  wliere  each  of  us  soon  struck  a 
fish,  or,  as  the  ])hrase  here  is,  "got  fast."  The  monster  —  I  believe  he  was  a 
ten-pounder  at  least — that  took  my  hook  threw  himself  bodily  into  the  air, 
shaking  his  head  as  if  he  did  not  mean  to  come  on  board  us.  vVml  he  was  as 
good  as  his  threat:  I  saw  the  drail  skipping  on  the  top  of  the  wave  as  my 
line  came  in  em})ty. 

In  two  hours  we  had  filled  a  barrel  with  fish,  and  it  was  time  to  shape  our 
course  harborward.  Wo  saw  the  smoke  of  the  Ishind  If(niK\  looking  at  first 
as  if  rising  out  of  the  Sound;  then  her  funnel  appeared,  an<l  at  length  her  Imll 
rose  into  view;  but  she  was  come  within  a  mile  of  us  before  I  could  distin- 
guish her  walking-beain.  Tuckamick  and  Low  Water  Island  were  soon  alec 
Maddequet  Harbor  opened  a  moment  for  us,  ])ut  we  did  not  entei'.  We 
rounded  Eel  Point  with  a  full  sail,  and  shot  past  Whale  Kock  and  the  slit>:il 
of  stranded  blackfish  I  told  you  of.  Ever  an.l  anon  we  had  ])assed  one  adrift, 
stripped  of  his  fatty  epidermis,  and  now  food  for  the  sharks.  They  were 
grotesque  objects,  though  now  mere  carrion,  above  which  the  tierce  gulls 


NANTUCKKT. 


n4; 


lose  one,  as  I 


k 


^ 


\... 


ULUi;  KISHINU. 


sc'icaiiu'd  iioislh'.  Iloro  is  IJraiit  Poiiil,  ami  its  li<>lit-lionse  of  reel  brick.  Wo 
staiiil  well  over  for  Coatue,  tlien  about  witli  lier  for  tbe  lioine  strelcli.  "  I''as1 
liiiul  fast  fiiub"  Our  bark  is  moored.  With  stirt'eiied  joints,  but  licjlit  liearts, 
we  seek  our  l()d^■inl:•s.  What  do  they  say  to  us?  I'  faith  I  am  not  sorry  I 
went  blue-lishiuLT.     lieader,  are  you? 

Many  blue-iish  are  eaniiht  otf  the  bcacli  on  tlie  sontl)  shove  of  tlie  island 
liy  castint?  a  line  amoncj  th.e  breakers,  and  then  hanlinj?  it  quickly  in.  This 
iiirtliod  they  call  "heave  and  haul."  It  takes  an  expert  to  get  the  sleight 
•  if  it.  (Jathering  the  line  in  a  coil  and  swinging  it  a  few  times  around  his 
luad.  an  olil  hand  will  cast  it  to  an  incredible  <listance.  The  iish  is  also  fre- 
•liiciitly  taken  in  seines  in  shallow  creeks  and  inlets,  but  he  as  often  escapes 
tlii'dugh  the  rents  lie  has  made  in  the  net, 

I  had  three  excursions  to  nnxke  before  T  could  say  T  liad  seen  Xantncket, 
Olio  was  to  the  hills  and  sands  toward  Coatue,  that  curved  like  a  sickle  around 
the  harbor;  another  was  to  Siasconset ;  and  yet  another  to  the  south  side. 
This  heing  done,  I  had  not  left  much  of  the  island  unexplored. 

It  was  on  a  raw,  blustering  tnorning  that  I  set  out  for  a  walk  around  the 
eastern  sshore  of  the  harbor,  I  saw  the  steamboat  go  out  over  the  bar,  now 
mottling  down  in  the  trough,  and  now  shaking  herself  and  staggering  onward. 
Dismally  it  looked  for  a  day  in  July,  but  I  had  not  tlie  mending  of  it.     After 


348 


THK  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


getting  well  clear  of  tlie  town  I  found  tlie  liills  assuming  some  size  and  nj). 
pearancc  of  vegetation.  Tliey  were  overgrown  with  wild-cranberry  viiit's 
lieariiig  stunted  IVuit,  each  turning  a  little  red  cheek  to  be  kissed  by  tlio 
morning  sun.  Some  beautiful  Howers  sprung  from  among  the  neutral  patclus 
of  heather.  The  Indian  pea,  unmatched  in  wihl  beauty,  displayed  its  suiii]i- 
tiions  plume  among  the  gray  moss  or  modest  daisies. 

The  beach  grass  was  rooted  everywhere  in  the  hillocks  next  the  sliore,  and 
appeared  to  be  gradually  working  its  way  inland.  I  attempted  to  pull  Sdiin' 
of  it  up,  but  only  the  stalks  remained  in  my  iiand.  Each  leaf  is  like  a  sword- 
blade.  Pass  your  hand  across  the  under-surface,  and  it  is  prickly  and  r<)Ui,'Ii. 
Wiiat  there  formerly  was  of  soil  has  been  growing  thinner  and  thinner  l»y 
being  blown  into  the  sea.  Unlike  tlu,'  bntfalo-grass  of  the  plains,  the  Ijcach 
grass  possesses  little  nutriment,  though  cattle  crop  the  tender  shoots  in  spring. 
It  was  formerly  much  used  for  brcjoin-stutf. 

I  i)icked  up  by  the  shore  many  scallop-shoUs,  and  on  the  liills  saw  many 
more  lying  where  pleasure-seekers  had  held,  as  the  saying  is,  th.eir  '■^ ."(jinni- 
tuni^''  ov  {)icnic.  Tiiis  is  a  historical  shell.  It  surmounts  the  cap-stone  oftlu' 
monument  built  over  the  Rock  of  the  Forefathers  at  Plymouth.  In  tiie  Dark 
Ages,  a  scallop-shell  fastened  to  the  hat  was  the  accepted  sign  that  the  wcinvr 
had  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land.     We  read  in  Parneirs  "  Ileriiiit, :" 

"  He  (|iiits  liis  coll,  tlie  ])ilu^-ini  stiitV  ho  bore, 
And  fixed  the  scallop  in  his  hat  before." 

Professor  Gosse  says  there  was  a  supposed  mystical  connection  between 
•the  scallop-shell  and  St.  James,  the  brotlier  of  the  Lord,  first  bishop  of  .lent- 
salem.  The  scallop  beds  are  usually  in  deep  water,  and  the  tish,  therefore, 
can  be  obtained  only  by  dredging.  They  are  rather  plentiful  in  Narraiiaiisot 
Kay.  Some,  of  a  poetic  turn,  have  called  them  the  "butterflies  of  the  sea;"' 
others  a  "frill,"  from  their  fimcied  resemblance  to  that  once  indispensiible 
badge  of  gentility.  As  much  as  any  thing  they  look  like  an  open  fan.  Mnny 
other  sliells  I  found,  ))articnlarly  the  valves  of  quahaugs,  and  a  periwinkle 
six  inches  in  length.  Its  shell  is  obtained  by  fastening  a  hook  in  the  ti>li  and 
suspending  it  by  a  string.  In  a  few  hours  the  inhabitant  drojis  his  inU'iiii- 
ment.  Amber  is  sometimes  picked  up  on  the  shores,  they  say,  but  none  eanie 
to  my  share. 

Shells  of  the  same  kind  as  those  now  common  to  the  shores  of  the  iskind 
liave  been  found  at  the  depth  of  fifty  feet,  after  penetrating  several  strata  of 
earth  and  clay.  In  digging  as  deep  as  tho  sea-level,  the  same  kind  of  sand  is 
brought  to  the  surface  as  now  makes  the  beaches,  and  the  same  inclination 
has  been  observed  that  tiow  exists  on  the  shores,  ^^r.  Adams,  my  landlonl, 
told  me  he  saw  taken  from  a  well,  at  the  depth  of  sixty  feet,  a  quantity  of 
qnahaug -shells  of  the  size  of  a  lialf-dollar.  They  usually  have  to  go  this 
depth  in  the  sand,  and  then  get  poor,  brackish  water.     There  is  an  account 


NANTUCKKT. 


349 


e  size  and  ap. 
•iniborry  viui's 
kissed  by  tiio 
leutral  patelns 
ii,yed  its  suiiiii- 

,  the  shove,  ami 
hI  to  pull  souu' 
is  like  a  swonl- 
:kly  and  roiii^li. 
and  thinner  by 
lains,  the  hcacli 
hoots  in  siiriii;:;. 

hills  saw  in;niy 
s,  their  '■'■  »<i>i((ii- 
cap-stone  of  tlif 
h.     In  the  Dark 

that  the  wearer 
c'lPs  "  Hermit, :" 


l-es  of  the  islainl 
leveral  straia  of 
kind  ofsaiul  is 
\m\w  inclinatidii 
lis,  my  landloi''!, 
It,  a  quantity  of 
liave  to  g-o  lliis 
re  is  an  aeeomit 


of  tlie  findini^  of  the  bone  of  a  whale  thirty  feet  under-Q;round  at  Siasconset. 
I  saw  many  covered  wells  in  Nantucket  streets  that  appeared  to  be  the  sup- 
j)lv  of  their  imnieiliate  neij^hboihoods. 

The  foy's  that  sometimes  ew  eldp  Xantucket  ujave  rise  to  a  pleasant  tic- 
tion,  which  smacks  of  the;  salt.  A  whaling  ship,  outward-bound,  having  been 
caught  in  one  of  uinisual  density  in  heaving  tht  port,  tlie  captain  made  a  pe- 
culiar mark  in  it  with  a  Iiarpoon,  and  on  his  return,  after  a  three  years'  cruise, 
fell  ill  with  the  harbor  at  the  very  same  spot. 

The  Indian  legend  of  the  origin  of  Xantucket  is  that  Mashope,  the  Iiidiati 
ijiaiit,  formed  it  by  emptying  the  aslies  of  his  jiipe  into  the  sea.  This  same 
Maslio])e,  having  in  one  of  liis  excursions  lighted  his  pipe  on  the  island,  and 
sat  down  for  a  comfortable  smoke,  caused  the  fogs  that  have  since  prevailed 
there.  He  probably  waded  across  from  the  Vineyard,  when  he  wanted  a 
liltle  distraction  from  domestic  infelicities. 

The  residence  of  Mashope  was  in  a  cavern  known  as  the  Devil's  \)v\\,  at 
Gay  Head.  Here  he  broiled  the  whale  on  a  tire  made  of  the  largest  trees, 
which  he  pulled  n|)  by  the  roots.  After  separating  No  Plan's  Land  fi-om 
Gay  Head,  metamorphosing  his  children  into  fishes,  and  throwing  his  wil"e  on 
Socoimet  Point,  where  she  now  lies,  a  misshapen  rock,  he  broke  up  housekeep- 
ing and  left  for  jiarts  unknown. 

Another  Indian  legend  ascribed  the  discovery  of  Xantucket  to  the  rav- 
ages made  by  an  eagle  among  the  diildren  of  the  tribes  on  Cape  Cod.  The 
bird  having  seized  a  papoose,  was  followed  by  the  parents  in  a  canoe  until 
they  came  to  the  island,  where  they  found  the  bones  of  the  child.  The  ex- 
istence of  the  island  was  not  before  suspected. 

Anciently,  the  dwellers  were  shepherds,  living  by  their  flocks  as  well  as 
by  fishing.  Every  inhabitant  had  the  right  to  keep  a  certain  number  of  sheep. 
One  day  in  the  year — formerly  the  only  holiday  kept  on  the  island — every 
body  repaired  to  the  commons.  The  sheep  were  driven  into  pens  and  sheared, 
Slioep-sliearing  day  continued  the  red-letter  day  on  N^antucket  well  into 
the  present  century.  T  saw  flocks  browsing  almost  everywliere  in  my  ram- 
bles, and  thought  them  much  more  ])ictures(pie  objects  in  the  landscape  than 
eoni-fields  or  vegetable  gardens.  There  is  a  freedom  about  a  shepherd's  life, 
a  eonuni  nion  with  and  knowledge  of  nattire  in  all  her  variable  moods,  that 
renders  it  more  attractive  than  delviniir  in  the  soil.  No  one  is  so  weather- 
wise  as  a  shepherd-boy.  I  liked  to  hear  the  tinkling  of  the  bells,  and  watch 
itie  gambols  of  the  lambs  on  the  hill-sides. 

Ill  his  day,  Philip  was  lord  and  sagamore  of  the  Nantucket  Indians.  lie 
Panic  once  to  the  island,  in  pursuit  of  a  subject  who  had  violated  savage 
laws  by  speaking  the  name  of  the  dead.  The  culprit  took  refuge  in  the 
lionse  of  Thomas  Macy,  and  Philip,  by  the  payment  ota  considerable  ransom, 
Was  induced  to  spare  his  life.     This  occurred  in  1005. 

The  Indian  prince  was  absolute   lord   on   land   and   sea.     Every  thing 


350 


THE   NEW  ENGLAND   COAST. 


siratuJed  on  his  coasts — whales  or  otlior  wreck  of  value  foiuul  floating  on  tho 
sea  washing  his  shores — or  brought  and  hmded  from  an^,  part  of  tlie  sea,  Mas 
no  less  his  own.  In  the  "jMagnalia"  is  related  an  incident  illustrating  lliis 
absolutism  of  Indian  sagamores.  An  Indian  prince,  with  eighty  well-arnud 
attendants,  came  to  ^Ir.  Mayhew's  house  at  Martha's  Vineyard.  ^Mayhew  en- 
tered the  room,  but,  being  acq\iainted  with  their  customs,  took  no  notice  of 
the  visitors,  it  being  with  them  a  point  of  honor  for  an  inferior  to  salute  the 
superior.  After  a  considerable  time  the  chief  broke  silence,  addressing  ]\Ir. 
Mayhew  as  sachem,  a  title  importing  only  good  or  noble  birth.  Tlie  prince 
liaving  j)referred  some  request,  3Iayhew  acceded  to  it,  adding  that  he  would 
confer  with  the  wiiites  to  obtain  their  consent  also.  The  Indian  deminidod 
why  he  recalled  his  promise,  saying,  "  What  I  promise  or  speak  is  always 
true ;  but  you,  an  English  governor,  can  not  be  true,  for  you  can  not  of  your- 
self make  true  what  you  ])romise." 

It  has  been  observe  1  tiiat  the  island  is  gradually  wasting  away.  On  tlie 
east  and  south  some  huiulreds  of  acres  have  been  encroached  upon  by  the 
sea,  and,  by  the  accounts  of  ancient  inhabitants,  as  many  more  on  the  north. 
During  some  years  the  sea  has  contributed  to  extend  the  shores;  in  otiiers 
the  waste  was  arrested;  but  the  result  of  a  long  series  of  observations  shows 
a  constant  gain  for  the  ocean.  Smith's  Point,  iu)w  isolated  from  the  main- 
land, once  formed  a  part  of  it,  the  sea  in  17SG  making  a  clean  breach  tlnoiigli, 
and  forming  a  strait  half  a  mile  witle. 

I  have  no  wish  to  depreciate  the  value  of  real  estate  upon  Nantucket, 
but  by  the  year  ;3(300,  acccjrding  to  our  ])resent  calendar,  I  doubt  if  there  will 
be  more  than  a  grease-spot  remaining  to  mark  tho  habitation  of  a  race  of 
vikings  whose  javelins  were  li.arpcions. 

Siasconset  is  the  paradise  of  tnc  islander:  not  to  sec  it  would  be  in  his 
eyes  unpardonable.  Tlierefore  I  went  to  Siasconset,  or  Scon  set,  a.-!  your  true 
islander  pronounces  it,  retaining  all  the  kernel  of  the  word.  It  is  situated  on 
the  south-east  shore  of  the  island,  seven  miles  from  the  town. 

You  may  have,  for  your  excursion,  any  sort  of  vehicle  common  to  the 
main-land,  but  the  islanders  most  affect  a  cart  with  high-boarded  sides  and  a 
step  behind,  more  resembling  a  city  coal-cart  thai,  any  tiling  else  I  can  call  to 
mind.  Though  not  like  an  Irish  Jaunting-car,  it  is  of  (juite  as  ]>eculiai'  con- 
struction, and,  when  filled  with  its  coin))!cment  of  gleeful  excursionists,  is  no 
bad  conveyance.  For  my  own  part,  I  would  rather  walk, but  they  will  tidl  you 
every  body  rides  to  Sconset.  Take  aiiy  vehicle  you  will,  you  can  have  only 
a  single  horse,  the  road,  or  rather  track,  being  so  deeply  rutted  that,  wlicii 
once  in  it,  the  wheels  run  in  grooves  six  to  twelve  inches  in  depth,  while  the 
horse  jogs  along  in  a  sort  of  furrow. 

I  own  to  a  rooted  antipathy  to  carts,  going  jnuch  farther  back  than  niy 
visit  to  X.antucket.  The  one  I  rode  in  over  a  stony  road  in  Maine,  with  a 
sack  of  hay  for  a  cushion,  put  me  out  of  conceit  with  carts.     I  would  h  ive 


NANTUCKET. 


351 


oating  on  the 
f  tlie  sea,  was 
ustratin<2;  thin 
LV  woU-untU'd 
^layluiw  tii- 
c  no  iiolic'u  of 
•  to  salutf  the 
iddrt'ssiiig  Mr. 
1.     The  prince 
that  lie  wmiKl 
lian  (U'luaiuled 
)eak  is  alwiiys 
111  not  of  yoiir- 

away.  On  the 
d  ni-on  by  the 
e  on  the  north. 
ores;  in  others 
.Tvations  shows 
from  the  main- 
breucli  through, 

-)()ii  Natitiu'ket, 
ibt  if  tliere  will 
)n  of  a  I'uee  of 

vonhl  be  in  his 

;et,  P..-;  vonr  true 

t  is  situated  cm 

Iconinion  to  the 
Ided  sides  and  a 
Idse  T  can  call  to 
IS  ])ei'nlia;  eon- 
Ini'sionists,  is  no 
].ey  will  tell  you 
|i  can  have  only 
ted  that,  when 
(lepth.whih'  the 

back  than  niy 

|i  Maine,  with  a 

I  would  hive 


iidniired  tlie  scenery,  had  not  my  time  been  occuj)ied  in  lioldinfr  on,  and  in 
catching  my  breath.  I  might  have  talked  with  the  driver,  had  not  the  jolting 
|int  me  under  the  necessity  of  swallowing  my  own  words,  and  nobody,  I  fancy, 
(|uite  likes  to  do  that.  AVhat  little  was  said  came  out  by  jerks,  like  the  con- 
n  of  a  victim  stretclied  on  the  rack.     IFenceforth  I  revolted  ai^ainst  hav- 


-lO 


i<i  Ml 


V  utterance  broken  on  the  wheel. 


Ihit  when  T  came  to  be  the  involuntary  witness  of  a  family  quarrtd  in  a 
earl,  I  banished  them  altogether  from  the  catalogue  of  vehicles.  "  Vou  are 
kept  so  very  close  to  it,  in  a  cart,  you  see.  There's  thousands  of  couples 
iinioiig  you  getting  on  like  sweet-ile  on  a  whetstone,  in  houses  five  and  six 
pairs  of  stairs  liigh,  that  would  go  to  tlie  divorce  court  in  a  cart.  Whether 
the  jolting  makes  it  worse,  I  don't  undertake  to  decide,  but  in  a  cart  it  does 
conic  home  to  you,  and  stick  to  you.  Wioleuce  in  a  cart  is  .so  wiolent,  and 
ajrcri'iiwatiou  in  a  cart  so  aggrawating." 

After  leaving  the  town  the  way  is  skirted,  for  some  distance,  with  sei'aggy, 
weird -looking  pitch-pines,  that  are  slowly  replacing  the  native  forest.  At 
every  mile  is  a  stone — set  at  the  roadside  by  the  care  of  one  native  to  this, 
and  now  an  inhabitiuit  of  the  most  [)o[)ulous  islaiul  in  America.'  They  are 
painted  white,  and  stand  like  sentinels  by  day,  or  ghosts  by  night,  to  j)oiiit 
the  way.  In  one  i)lace  I  noticed  the  bojie  of  a  shark  stuck  in  the  ground  for 
a  landmark.  There  are  two  roads  to  Siasconset,  the  old  and  the  new.  I 
chose  the  old. 

A  stretch  of  seven  miles  across  a  lonely  prairie,  with  no  other  object  for 
the  eye  to  rest  upon  than  a  few  bare  hills  or  sunken  ponds,  brought  us  in  siglit 
ol'tlu'  village  and  of  the  sea. 

The  Siasconset  of  the  jiast  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  collection  of 
lishernien's  huts,  built  of  the  simplest  materials  that  would  keep  out  wi  id  and 
weather.  In  the  beginnings  of  the  English  along  our  coast  these  little  fish- 
iie^diauilets  were  called  "stages."  Other  tishing-stages  were  at  Wewoeders, 
I'eedee,  Sesacacli.a,  and  Qtiidnet.  Of  these  Siasconset  alone  has  Nourished. 
•Ul  early  navigators  and  writers  agree  that  the  waters  hereaway  were  abun- 
ilantly  stocked  with  the  cod. 

I  found  the  village  pleasantly  seated  along  the  margin  of  the  blulf,  that 
rises  here  well  above  the  sea.  Uehind  it  the  land  swelled  again  so  as  to  in- 
teree|it  the  view^  of  the  town.  Underneath  the  cliff  is  a  terrace  of  sand,  to 
which  a  flight  of  steps,  eked  out  with  a  footpati  ,  r.ssists  the  descent.  Here 
were  lying  a  number  of  dories,  and  one  or  two  (ingnlar-looking  fish-earts, 
with  a  cask  at  one  end  for  a  wheel.  A  fish-house,  with  brush  flakes  about  it, 
iiiui  a  pile  of  wreck  lumber,  completed  what  man  might  have  a  title  to.  This 
terrace  pitches  abruptly  into  the  sea,  with  a  regularity  of  slope  like  the  glacis 
"t'a  tnitress.     It  would  never  do  to  call  the  Atlantic  a  ditch,  yet  you  seem 


'  Rev.  F.  C.  Ewer,  of  New  York. 


.352 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COAST. 


IIOMES  OF   THE  riSIlEUMEN,  SiA:?l  UN^ET. 


standing  on  a  parapet  of  sand.  Tlio  sand  lioro  appears  coinpostHl  of  partialis 
of  (granite;  in  other  parts  of  the  ishind  it  is  like  the  drift  at  Cape  Cod. 

The  village  is  an  odd  collection  of  one-story  cottages,  so  alike  that  llic 
first  erected  niiglit  have  served  as  a  pattern  for  all  others.  Iron  cranes  iim- 
jected  from  angles  of  the  honses,  on  which  to  hang  lanterns  at  night-l'all,  in 
place  of  stre(!t-lanips.  Fences,  neatly  whitewashed  or  ])ainted,  inclosed  catli 
liouseholder's  possession,  ami  in  many  instances  blooming  Hower-beds  causoil 
an  involuntary  glance  at  the  window  ibr  their  guardians.  On  many  liousis 
were  the  names  of  wrecks  that  had  the  soeniing  of  grave-stones  overlookini,' 
the  sands  that  had  entombed  the  ships  that  wore  them.  In  one  front  yunl 
was  the  carved  figure  of  a  woman  that  had  been  filli[)ed  by  the  foam  of  ninny 
a  sea.  Fresh  from  the  loftier  buildings  and  bi'oader  streets  of  the  town,  this 
seemed  like  one  of  those  miniature  villaues  that  children  deliiiht  in. 

Looking  off  seaward,  I  could  descry  no  sails.  The  last  objects  on  the  hori- 
zon line  were  white-crested  breakers  combing  above  the  "gulf  or  ship  swal- 
lower"  lying  in  Avait  beneath  thejn.  It  is  a  dangerous  sea,  and  Nantucket 
Hhoals  have  (d)tained  a  terrible  celebrity — unequaled,  perha|)s,  even  by  tho 
Goodwin  Sands,  that  mariners  shudder  at  the  mention  of  If  a  ship  grninids 
on  the  Shoal  she  is  speedily  wrejiched  in  pieces  by  the  ])ower  of  the  suit. 
They  will  tell  you  of  a  brig  (the  Poinsett)  that  came  ashore  on  the  sniitli 
side  with  her  masts  in  her,  apparently  tminjtired.  Two  days'  pouiHiiii!,' 
strewed  the  beach  with  her  timbers.  "A  ship  on  the  Shoals!"  is  a  sduml 
that  will  quicken  the  pulses  of  men  familiar  with  danger.     I  suppose  the  cahim- 


NANTl.CKKT. 


3;-),'] 


iost'(l  of  iiartieli!^ 


\{on^  liootn  of  ;x  ininutc-gim  lias  often  rotist'd  tlie  lilllo  fisliiiig-liainlut  to  exer- 
tions of  wliieli  :i  Jew  liumaii  lives  were  the  giiei'iloii.  IIeui'<l  amidst  the  aeeoiii- 
piiiiiieiits  of  tempest,  gale,  and  the  thnnder  of  the  breakers,  it  might  well 
thrill  the  listener  with  fear;  or,  if  unheard,  the  ligluning  Hashes  would  tell 
the  walehcrs  that  wood  and  iron  still  held  together,  and  that  hope  was  not 
vrt  extinct. 

It  may  be  that  the  great  Xantiicket  Soutli  Shoal,  forty-five  miles  in  l)readllu 
liv  fifty  in  length,  tends  to  the  preservation  of  the  island,  for  which  it  is  a 
breakwater.  The  great  extent  of  shallows  on  both  sides  of  the  island,  with 
the  known  physical  changes,  would  almost  justify  the  belief  that  these  sands 
ami  this  island  once  formeil  pa  t  of  the  main-land  of  Xew  England. 

^lucli  is  claimed,  doubtless  with  justice,  for  the  salubrity  ofSiasconset  air. 
•Many  resort  thither  during  the  heats  of  midsumnur.  I  found  denizens  of 
Nantucket  who,  it  would  seem,  had  enough  of  sea  and  shore  at  home,  domes- 
ticated in  some  wee  cottage.  The  season  over,  luuises  are  shut  up,  and  the 
village  goes  into  winter-cpiarlers.  I'lie  greensward,  elevation  above  the  sea, 
iiiid  j)ure  air  are  its  credentials.     I  saw  it  on  ji  sunny  day,  looking  its  best. 

The  sand  is  coarse-grained  and  very  soft.  There  is  no  beach  on  the  island 
liriii  enough  for  driving,  or  even  toler;ible  walking.  The  waves  that  came  in 
liciv  projected  themselves  fully  forty  feet  up  the  escarjimeiil  oi'  the  bank  that  I 


.^,W^^^ 


TIUJ   t^KA-HI.ITr,  siAsCONSET. 


364 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND  (OAST. 


have  spoken  of.  I  recollect  that,  having  chosen  what  I  believeil  a  safe  position 
I  was  overtaken  by  a  wave,  and  haJ  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat.  Bathing  hLTo  is 
on  account  of  the  under-tow  and  quicksands,  attended  with  hazard,  and  (uii,'lii 
not  to  be  attempted  except  with  the  aid  of  ropes  Willis  talks  of  the  tontli 
wave.  I  know  about  the  third  of  tlie  swell,  lor  I  liave  often  watcher  I  it. 
The  Hrst  and  second  are  only  forerunners  of  the  mighty  one.  The  dorii's 
come  in  on  it.     A  breaker  fell  here  every  live  seconds,  by  the  watch. 

We  returned  by  the  foreland  of  Sankoty  Head,  on  which  a  light- house 
stands.  From  an  eminence  here  the  sea  is  visible  on  both  sides  of  the  iwhiiii]. 
When  built,  this  light  was  unsurpassed  in  brilliancy  by  any  on  the  const, 
and  was  considered  equal  to  the  nuigniiicent  beacon  of  the  ^NForro.  Fisiiei- 
men  called  it  the  blazing  ^lar.  Its  Hashes  are  very  full,  vivid,  and  strikin;^-, 
and  its  position  is  one  of  great  importance,  as  warning  the  mariner  to  steui' 
wide  of  the  great  iSouthern  IShoal.  Seven  miles  at  sea  the  white  Hash  takes  a 
reddish  hue. 


HACLINO    A    UOKV    OVEIt   THE   HU.l.fi,  NAMLCKET. 


The  following  afternoon  I  w.-ilked  ncross  the  isl;iiid  to  the  south  shore  ;it 
Surfside,  a  distance  of  ]>erha))S  three  miles  or  more.  A  south-west  gale  tiinl 
had  prevailed  for  twenty-four  hours  led  me  to  expect  an  angry  and  tuiiiiiltu- 
ous  sea;  nor  was  I  disappointed:  the  broad  expanse  between  shore  and  hori- 
zon was  a  confused  mass  of  foam  and  broken  water.  It  was  a  mournful  soa: 
not  a  sail  nor  a  living  soul  w;is  in  sight.  A  few  sand-birds  and  plover  piped 
plaintively  to  the  lioarse  dia))ason  of  the  billows. 

Here  I  saw  a  sunset  in  a  gale;  the  sun,  as  the  sailors  say,  "setting  ui' 


NANTIXKKT. 


355 


a  safe  posilioii, 
>athiiig  hc've  is, 
^-xnl,  and  ()U;j;lil 
ks  of  tlio  li'iilh 
en  watclu'd  it. 
e.  The  dories 
walcli. 

»  a  light -liousi' 
es  of  the  isUiiid. 
V  on  the  coast, 
Morro.  Fislier- 
id,  and  striking', 
mariner  lo  stucr 
lite  flash  takes  a 


\\\c  south  shore  lit 
Ih-west  gale  thai 
Ury  and  ttunultu- 
\n  shore  and  hovi- 
a  inonrnfid  sea; 
land  plover  pil'L'l 


l.U.in   lIOLSi:,  SANKOTV   IlKAI),   NAMI CKKT. 

>lir()ii(ls    and    backstays"  —  screened 

tiuiii  view  by  a  mass  of  dark  clouds,  yet  poui'iug 

(kiwii  I'rom  behind  tiicm  tiirouuh  interstices  ui)on 

:lie  hounds  of  the  sea,  the  rays  having  somewhat     ^^~4!'X'\^  v 

tlic  apiiearance   of  golden   ropes   arising   from   the     ^■«^pi• 

ocean  and  converging  to  an  unseen  jioiiit. 

I  seated  mvself  in  one  of  the  dories  on  the  beach  and  gazed  my  iill.  Say 
wlial  vou  will,  there  is  a  mighty  fasc-ination  in  the  sea.  Darkness  surprised 
iiielK-rore  I  had  recrossed  the  lonely  moor,  and  I  heltl  my  way,  guided  by  the 
ileep  ciut-iuts,  until  the  lights  of  the  town  twinkled  their  welcome  before  me. 
It  was  my  last  night  on  sea-girt  Nantucket.  I  do  not  deny  that  I  left  it  with 
reluctance. 


sav,  "setting  up 


^E^vl■uliT,  FuoM  Four  aua.ms. 


CIIAITKR  XXir. 

NKwi'oitr  OK  A^il•ll>^•^:(  K. 

*'Tliis  ciistle  hiitli  ii  i)leasiiiit  seat:   tlio  air 
Nimlily  ami  swuctly  rucoiiimuiHls  itselt" 
Unto  our  i^oiiilc  souses. " — Macbeth, 

"VJEWPOIIT  is  an  oqirivoquo.  Tl  is  old,  ami  yet  not;  grave,  tIioiii;li  tjay; 
-^^  opulent  ami  poor;  s))k'ii(li(l  aiul  iiu'an  ;  ])()puloiis  or  (.leserted.  ^\s  lliu 
only  place  in  New  England  where  tliose  who  floo  Iron)  one  city  arc  content 
to  inliabit  another,  it  is  anomalous. 

In  his  "Trois  ."MoMS(]uetaires  "  ^Vlexander  Diunas  makes  liis  giant,  Portlios, 
encounter  a  liidicrotis  adventure.  The  gnardsman  is  the  complacent  pos- 
sessor of  a  magniticent  golden  sword-belt,  the  envy  of  Ills  comrades,  iiiilil  on 
one  unlucky  day  it  is  discovereil  that  the  h;ilf  concealed  beneath  his  cloak  is 
notliing  but  leather;  whereupon  some  sword-thrusts  occur.  It  was  31.  Bw- 
meaux,  afterward  governor  of  tlie  IJastile,  who  was  the  real  hero  of  the  sword- 
belt — half  gold,  half  leather — that  Dumas  has  hung  on  the  shoulders  of  his 
o'igantic  o-uardsman. 

Newport's  ocean  side  is  belted  with  modern  villas,  costly,  showy,  ami  or- 
nate. Tliey  mask  the  town  in  splendid  succession,  as  if  each  had  l)etii  built 
to  surpass  its  neighbor.  This  is  the  Newport  of  to-day.  IJehind  it,  old,  gray, 
and  commonplace  by  comparison,  is  the  Newport  of  other  days.  The  (litlVr- 
(Mice  between  the  two  is  very  marked.  The  old  town  is  the  effete  body  into 
which  the  new  is  infusing  young  blood,  warming  anl  invigorating  it  into  new 
life.  If  the  figure  were  jtermissible,  we  should  say  the  Queen  of  Aquidncck 
had  drunk  of  the  eli.vir  of  life,  so  unexami)led  is  the  rapidity  with  which  she 
transiigures  herself. 

I  like  Newport  because  it  is  old,  quaint,  and  peculiar.     Though  far  from  in- 


NEVVroUT  OF  ACiUlDNKCK. 


;so7 


seiisililo  to  its  (liilicult  feats  in  arc-liiti'ctiirc,  I  did  not  cotne  to  see  tine  liousus. 
To  nic  tlioy  t'tnbody  notiiing  besides  the  idea  of  weultli  and  luxurious  case. 
Miiny  of  tlieui  are  as  I'eniaikahle  for  eleganco  as  are  others  for  ugliness  of 
dcsi.L^'ii ;  yet  I  foiniil  it  niueh  tlie  same  as  Malkin;^  in  Fifth  Avenue  or  IJea- 
eoii  Street.  They  are  at  lirst  bewilderinji',  then  monotonous;  or,  as  IJuskin 
s;iy>  of  types  of  form,  mere  form,  "  You  learn  not  to  see  them.  You  don't 
look  at  them." 

1  said  Newport  was  eommoiii»lace,  and  I  said  it  with  mental  reservation 
It  has  a  niateiiless  site,  glorious  bay,  and  delieious  climate,  that  many  have 
k'C'ii  willing,  perhaps  u  little  too  willing,  to  compare  with  Italy.  If  we  have 
ill  N'l  \v  England  any  phase  of  elimat(  we  may  safely  match  with  that  favored 
lainl,'  I  frankly  concede  Newport  possesses  it.  The  (lulf  Stream  approaches 
near  enough  to  temper  in  summer  the  harshness  of  sea-breezes,  and  the  rigor 
of  cold  northern  winds  in  winter.  The  only  faults  I  had  to  fmd  with  the 
siuniner  and  autumn  aspects  of  Newport  climate  were  the  logs  and  humidity 
of  the  nights.  The  pavements  are  frequently  wet  as  if  by  light  showers. 
Tills  condition  of  the  atmosphere  is  the  plague  of  laundresses  and  hair-dress- 
ers at  the  great  houses;  the  ringlets  you  see  in  Newport  are  natural. 

When  at  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  we  were  a  "thin  under-waistcoat  v.-armer" 
than  on  the  main-land.  Neal  says  it  is  a  coat  warmer  in  winter  at  Newport 
lliaii  at  JJoston.  I  remarked  that  evening  promcnaders  in  the  streets  thei'e 
we're  more  tliinly  clothed  than  would  be  considered  prudent  elsewhere.  In 
Newport,  according  to  Neal,  it  would  lose  much  point  to  say  a  man  was  with- 
out a  coat  to  liis  back.  Nr.  Cooj)er,  in  the  "  Ked  IJover,"  calls  attention  to 
the  magnificent  harbor  of  Newport  in  the  language  of  the  practiced  seaman. 
It  fully  meets  all  the  requisites  of  easy  appi-oach,  safe  anchorage,  and  quiet 
basin.  Isles  and  jiromontories,  frowning  with  batteries,  shield  it  from  danger 
or  insult.  The  verdure  of  the  shores  is  of  the  most  brilliant  green,  ."nd  grows 
(|uite  to  the  water's  edge,  or  to  the  verge  of  the  dills.  In  a  calm  day,  when 
the  water  is  rnftled  only  by  light  airs,  tlie  tints  of  sea  and  sky  are  scarcely 
diHerent:  then  the  bay  really  looks  like 

'•  Un  pezzo  di  ciulo  cadiito  in  terra." 

In  apjiroaching  Newport  from  sea,  after  weathering  much-dreaded  Point 
Jiuli'h,'  we  shall  fall  in  with  the  light-vessel  anchored  otf  Brcnton's  Kcef,  the 
oxtreuie  sonth-west  point  of  tlie  island  of  Kiiode  Island.  At  the  same  time 
the  light-house  on  Beaver  Tail"  Hashes  greeting,  and   we  may  now  enter  the 


ourrh  far  from  in- 


'  .\r  X.()iles  tlie  summer  tenii)erature  is  seldom  above  7!5° ;  in  winter  it  does  not  fall  below  47". 

"  I'niiit  Juditli  is  named  from  Juditb  Qiiiney,  the  wife  of  Julin  Hull,  coiner  of  the  rare  old  piiie- 
trec  sliilliiigs  of  lGr.2. 

'  IJeaver  Tail  is  n  peninsula  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Cnnonicut  Island,  so  named  from  its 
marked  resemblance,  on  the  map,  to  the  a  ipenda^e  of  the  beaver. 


358 


THE  NKW  ENCJLANl)  COAST. 


Ol.U   I'OKT,   l)lMrLlN<i    1!(H  K:;. 


port  Willi  cuiiruk'iice.     I'as.siiii,'  beside  the  "Dmuplings  "  ami  the  old  r.Mmil 
tower,  j)erclied   on  ii  )»rojectiii<i;  and  nlniost  insulated  rock,  we  stt-er  under 
tlie   walls  of  Fort  Adams.'     Sleepy  tishing-boats,  eoininj;  in  with  the  ni. lin- 
ing's  tloiid,   are    SL'nt,    with 
--^'         ■    '  ~  •— >  rultlini"' blocks,  and  sails  idiv 

/  ila])])ing,  reeling  and  rockiiijr 

on  big  waves  caused  bv  the 
niajeslio  onward  niaieh  u\' 
onr  great  steamer;  the  \)v;\i 
ot'the  paddles  (ionies  audil)]y 
back  from  rocks  washed  liir 
a  moment  by  our  allcndaiit 
wave.  As  we  round  llio 
fortress  the  bugles  ])lay.  A 
ball  goes  quickly  up  \<>  ihc 
very  to])  of  the  Hag -staff; 
there  is  a  flash,  and  a  roar  of  the  morning  gun  ;  and  when  the  smoke 
drifts  slowly  before  tlie  breeze,  we  see  the  di'ar  old  Hag  blowing  out  "Icar, 
with  every  stripe  still  there,  and  never  a  reproach  in  one  of  them.  At  our 
right,  and  close  inshore,  is  Lime  lioek  Light,  with  its  associations  of  female 
heroism."  At  the  left  is  Goat  Island,  long  and  low,  with  Fort  Wolcott  ami 
pleasant  cottages  for  the  officers  of  the  torpedo  station.^  Beyond,  rising  tier 
above  tier,  with  the  beautiful  spire  of  Trinity  Church  in  its  midst,  is  New- 
l)ort. 

Newport  has  been  coinj)ared  to  the  Lothians  and  to  the  Isle  of  ^^'iLrllt, 
the  British  pjden.  By  all  old  travelers  it  was  admitted  to  be  the  paradise 
of  New  England.  Its  beautiful  and  extensive  bav  reminds  Scotsmen  of  the 
Clyde.  In  fact,  every  traveled  person  at  once  estimates  it  v.ith  what  has 
Intherto  impressed  him  most  —  an  involuntary  but  sure  recognition  of  its 
charms. 

I'revious  to  the  Revolution,  Newport  was  the  fourth  commercial  town  in 
the  colonies,  once  having  more  than  nine  thousand  inhabitants.  It  was  at 
first  tributary  to  Boston,  sending  its  corn,  pork,  and  tobacco  to  be  oxcliaiigptl 

*  Fort  Adnins  is  situated  at  the  upper  (northern)  end  of  n  point  of  Innd  which  heljis  to  form  the 
harbor  of  Newport ;  it  also  incloses  a  piece  of  water  called  lirentou's  Cove. 

'  J5y  our  American  Grace  Darling,  Miss  Ida  Lewis. 

^  Goat  Island  was  the  site  of  a  colonial  fortress.  During  the  reign  of  King  William,  (Vilonel 
Komcr  advised  the  fortificiuion  of  Rhode  Island,  which  he  says  had  never  been  done  "hy  ri'iisoii 
(if  tlie  mean  condition  and  refractoriness  of  the  inhabitants."  In  1744  the  fort  on  Goat  1>1miii1 
mounted  twelve  cannon.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Ilevolution  General  Leo.  and  afterward  ('ulniiel 
Knox,  marked  out  defensive  works  ;  but  they  do  not  ajipear  to  have  been  executed  when  the  Hritisl:, 
on  the  same  day  that  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware,  took  possession  of  the  island.  The  Whigs 
in  1775,  removed  the  cannon  from  the  batteries  in  the  harbor.  Major  L'Enfiint,  the  engineer  ot 
West  Point,  was  the  author  of  Fort  Wolcott. 


NK\V1»0UI'  OF  AQUIDNKCK. 


359 


icli  lieli)S  to  t'oiin 


for  Huroponn  uoods.  Its  comtiu'rcial  recovery  from  llic  prostration  i.-i  which 
the  ohl  war  left  it  was  auaiii  arrested  by  that  ol"  IHl-j;  and  this  time  it  did 
not  rise  again.  The;  wliak'-fisliery  was  introduced  and  abamioned:  writers 
(it  this  period  describe  it  as  lifeless,  wilh  every  mark  of  diiapithition  and  de- 
cay. The  salnbrity  of  the  climate  of  Newport  had  long  been  acknowledi^ed, 
;iii(l  i)efore  IH'JO  il  had  become  a  place  of  resort  for  invalids  from  tlie  South- 
ern States  and  the  West  Indies.  This  oni-  original  gift  has  ever  since  been 
(lilt  .'It  interest,  until,  where  a  lew  acres  of  grass  once  Nourished,  you  might 
wwv  the  ground  with  dollars  before  you  became;  its  owner.' 

At  Newport  the  visitor  is  challenged  Ity  past  and  i)resent,  each  having 
jaii^c  claims  on  his  attention.  I  spent  much  of  my  time  among  old  houses, 
iiKiiimnents,  and  churches.  Some  of  these  are  in  ))ublic  places  and  are  easily 
found,  while  others  are  hidden  away  in  forgotten  corners,  or  screened  iVoni 
observation  by  the  walls  of  intervening  buildings.  As  is  inevitable  in  such  a 
place,  tlie  visitor  will  unwittingly  pass  by  many  objects  that  he  will  be  cu- 
rious to  i^ee,  and  in  retracing  his  footsteps  will  have  occasion  to  remark  how 
iiuuh  a  S3rap  of  history  or  tradition  adds  to  the  charm  of  an  otherwise  unin- 
ti'iesting  structure. 

'i'he  town  along  tlie  water  resembles  Salem,  except  tluit  it  li.-is  neithfcr  its 
look  of  <  nticpiity  nor  its  dilapidation.  Here  the  principal  thoroughiare  is 
Thames  Street,  long,  narrow,  and  almost  wholly  built  of  wood.  The  narrow- 
ness of  Thames  Street  has  been  refi'rred  to  the  oncroacliments  of  builders  of 
a  fcniier  time,  the  old  houses  standing  at  some  distance  back  from  the  pave- 
ment being  pointed  to  as  evidence  of  the  fact.  I  can  only  vouch  for  glimpses 
of  some  very  habit.'ible  and  inviting  old  residences  in  bajk  courts  and  alleys 
()|ieniiig  upon  the  street.  Here,  too,  old  gambrel-roofed  houses  are  plenty  as 
lilackbi'rries  in  August.  They  have  a  ])ortly,  aldermanic  look,  with  great 
breadth  of  beam,  like  ships  of  their  day.  When  these  houses  that  now  stand 
end  to  the  street  had  pleasant  garden  spots  between,  a  walk  here  woidd  have 
been  worth  the  taking.  When  there  were  no  sidewalks,  it  meant  something 
to  ;j;ive  the  wall  to  your  neighbor,  and  tact  and  breeding  were  requisite  to 
know  when  to  demand  and  when  to  decline  it. 

In  Thames  Street  are  several  imperturbable  notables  in  brick  or  wood. 
The  City  Hall — for  as  early  as  1784  Newport  had  reached  the  dignity  of  a 
iit\   -is  usually  first  encountered.     Xotwithstanding  they  tell  you  it  was  one 


'  There  slioiiUl  be  added  to  the  detail  of  mups  given  in  tlie  initial  ('lii\jiter  that  of  .rerome  Ver- 
iii/.iini.  in  the  I'ollege  de  I'roiia^aiuhi  Fide,  at  Rome,  of  the  siipiiosed  date  of  1.">2I».  This  maji  is 
(lesiTilied  and  discussed,  together  with  the  detail  of  Gioviiiini  Verrazani's  letter  to  Francis  I.. 
dated  at  Dieppe,  July  8tli,  1024,  in  "  V^errazano,  the  Navigator,"  liy  .T.  C.  Brevoort.  A  reduced 
copy  of  the  map  or  "Tlanis]ihere"  is  there  given.  The  aiulior  adopts  the  thooiy,  not  witlioiit 
iiliiiisiliility,  that  Verrazani  passed  fifteen  days  at  anchor  in  Nairagaiisct  15ay.  As  1  have  before 
^aid,  there  is  something  of  fact  in  these  early  relations;  but  if  tested  by  the  only  exact  marks  given 
(liititude,  distances,  and  courses),  they  establish  nothing. 


;(00 


TUK    NKW   i;.N(iI.AM)   COAST. 


oflV'kT  Harrison's'  buildiii'^s,  it,  is  very  ordiiiiirv-lixikinu:,  inside  luid  out.  It 
\v:is  Imilt  on  ai'dii's,  wjiicli  indicates  llu  iowi'r  ilom-  to  liavr  Ix-cn  intended  as 
u  |)iil)lic  promenade;  and  shown  tlnit  the  tirchiteet  had  thi'  Oh]  Ijoyal  V.\- 
eliaiiLCe  in  mind.  For  some  lime  it  was  nsed  as  a  market.  This  house  eame 
into  the  little  world  of  New|ioit,  in  1703.  A  word  of  admiration  fioin  All- 
slon  has  lont;  been  treasured. 

In  this  biiildiiiij;  I  saw  lianLjinu;  tho  escntelieon  of  William  C'oddin;j:tuii, 
who,  as  every  hotly  at  all  familiar  with  the  history  of  Khode  Island  kimws, 
■was  one  of  the  founders  of  Newport,  and  lirst  governor  of  the  little  body  pul- 
itic  organized  ujion  tin-  Isle  of  .\(|uidMeek. 


ui.i)  Ti.Mi;  aoLsiis. 


Wo  have  (h'cideil  to  east  a  u:laiiee  backward,  and,  to  know  our  yTdinuI, 
must  pay  our  duly  to  this  oM  fonndei'.  William  Coddington,  Es(inire,  cmimc 
to  New  EuL^land  in  10:10  with  the  IJoston  colonists,  as  one  of  the  assistants 
named  in  their  charter.  He  was  se\-eral  times  reehosen  to  this  important  \w- 
sition,  became  a  leading  merchant  in  I>ost(ui,  and  is  said  to  have  built  the 
first  brick  house  thore,^  The  house  lie  afterward  bnilt  ami  lived  in  at  Xew- 
port,  ()f  tho  quaint  old  Euylish  pattern,  was  standing  within  the  recollection 
of  many  older  inliabitants. 

jNIr.  Cothlington  became  Involved  in  the  Anne  TTuteliinson  controversy,  ns 
did  Wheelwright,  tho  founder  of  Exeter.  ]Mrs.  Hutchinson  was  banished,  and 
took  refuge  with  Coddington  and  others  on  Rhode  Island.     In  the  presonee 


'  Harrison,  tlio  first  iiivhitecl  of  liis  elay  in  Xew  Eiiglmul,  wiis  tlio  juitliof  of  many  of  iIk'  older 
pnblic;  biiildinj^s  in  Newport,  Trinity  Cimrch  and  Redwood  Library  among  others.  Ho  also  dL><if;nc(l 
King's  (,"]iapcl,  Hoston,  and  did  what  he  could  to  drag  architecture  out  of  the  mire  of  I'mitaii  iii,'ii- 
iiess  and  neglect. 

"  He  owned,  besides  his  house  and  garden  in  Boston,  lands  at  Mount  Wollaston,  now  Quiiicy, 
Massachusetts.  Coddington  is  mentioned  in  Samuel  FuUm's  letter  to  Bradford,  June,  Hi^O. 
"Mrs.  Cottington  is  dead,"  he  also  says. 


NKWI'OIM'   OK   ACillDNKCK. 


301 


::^' 


ol'Covcnior  Wiiitlinip  and  of  Dtidk-y,  liis  (lc|iuty ;  of  tlio  assistants,  anion'^' 
wlii'iii  wort'  Kii.lieolt,  IJradstrcct,  and  Sioiii^lilon  ;  confiontcd  l»y  llii'  lormiosl 
mid  liardest-slicll- 
(il  ministers  in 
the  ciilony,  sncli 
;is  1 1  null  IVtcis, 
i-ilidl,  and  Wil- 
siiii,  tins  wuni- 
iiii  ddl'iidud  Iier- 
sclt, almost  siiiiLrli'- 
liiuiili'd  Mild  u'illi 
C'(iii-iiiiiiiiaU'  ad- 
ilicss,  against  a 
(•(Hilt  which  had 
iilrcady  ])1"<.Jih1!4'- 
I'd  lup  cast',  and 
uliiili  stiihhoniK 
ri'l'iix'd,  until  the 
very  last  stau'o  of 
tin'  iifoc(jcdin<rs, 
to  put  tlio  wit- 
nesses upon  oath. 
As  a  specimen  of 
the  way  in  which 

justice  M-as  administered  in  the  early  day,  and  of  judicial  ])roccdiire,  tliis 
triiil  is  exccedinu-ly  curious.'  Here  is  a  specimen  of  brow-beating  that  re- 
calls "  Oliver  Twist :" 

Jh'pi/(i/-f/ov(n')ior.  "Let  lier  witnesses  be  called." 

<n>ri'r/t<»\  ^' Who  be  theyV" 

Mrs.  Ifiifc/u'/ftio)!.  "Mr.  l.everet,  aiul  our  teacher,  and  ^Ir.  Coggcsliail." 

(roverno)'.  "Mr.  C-oggeshall  was  not  ])reseiit."'' 

^fl•.  <'of/(/e.s/i(dL  "Yes,  but  I  was,  only  I  desired  to  be  silent   until-  T  was 
called;' 

Ooreriior.  "Will  you,  Mr.  Coggeshall,  say  that  she  did  not  say  soV" 

Mr.  Cof/r/c'i/ialL  "Yes,  I  dare  say  that  she  did  not  say  all  tliat  which  lliey 
lay  Mi;-;iiust  her." 

Mr.  Peters.  "  How  dare  you  lool;  into  the  court  to  say  sucli  a  word?" 

^H:  Cof/f/eshall.  "  Mr.  Peters  takes  upon  liim  to  tbi-bid  me.    I  shall  be  silent." 

As  the  governor  was  about  to  i)ass  sentence,  Mr.  Coddiugton   arose  and 
spoke  some  manly  words: 


lUJSIDENCK   or  (lOVICItNOK   CODmNCiTON,  NIOWl'OUT,  IfiH, 


'  It  may  be  found  at  length  in  llutcliinson,  appendix,  vol.  ii.     Governor  Hiitcliinsou  was  a  rel- 
ative of  tlie  sdiismatic  Anne. 


w%Mf.r^timflmiimim 


302 


TIIK    M;\V   r..\(iLAM)   COAST. 


3fr.  Coiidi)ir/fon,  "I  do  tliiisk  that  you  are  ^oiiig-  to  ceiisuie,  tlioreforc  I 
(k'sire  to  speak  a  word.'" 

Governor.  "I  pray  you  sj)eak.'' 

Mr.  (Joddhi(jU)ii,  "  There  is  one  tliiiiif  ohjected  a2;aiust  the  me(  tings.  AVhat 
if  she  desioiied  to  edil'y  her  own  I'aiuily  iu  her  own  meetings,  may  none  cUc 
he  ])reseiit  ?" 

iioDtrHor.  "If  you  liave  notliinsj:  else  to  say  hut  tliat,  it  is  a  pity,  Mr.  Coil- 
dington,  that  you  shouhl  interrupt  iis  in  proceeding  to  censure." 

Despite  this  reproof,  Mr.  Coddington  had  his  say,  and  one  of  the  assistants 
(Stoughton)  insisting,  the  ministers  were  comi)elled  to  I'epeat  tiieir  testimony 
under  oatli ;  wliicli  tliev  did  after  mucli  parleying  and  with  evident  ichic- 
tance.  It  is  curious  to  ohsi-rve  that  in  this  trial  the  by-standers  were  several 
times  apjtealed  to  for  an  expression  of  opinit)n  on  some  knotty  question.'  llail 
it  not  involved  the  liberty  and  fortunes  of  many  more  than  the  Ilntcliiiisdiis, 
its  ludicrous  side  woidd  scarcely  have  been  surpassed  by  the  celebrated  cause 
of'Bardell  r.s'.  Pickwick." 

There  is  something  inexpressibly  touching  in  the  decay  of  an  old  ami  hon- 
orable name — in  the  struggle  between  grinding  poverty  and  hereditary  t'ani- 
ily  pride.  Instead  of  finding  the  Coddingtons,  as  might  be  ex])ected,  among 
the  princes  of  Newport,  a  native  of  the  })lace  would  only  shake  his  head  when 
questioned  of  them. 

Toueliing  the  northern  limits  of  Xcwport  is  a  placid  little  basin  called 
Coddington's  Cove.  It  is  a  reuuMubrancer  of  the  old  governor.  The  last  Cod- 
dington inlierited  an  ample  estate,  upon  the  ])rincipal  of  which,  like  Heine's 
monkey,  who  boiled  and  ate  his  own  tail,  he  lived,  imtil  there  was  no  more 
k  ft.  The  Cossacks  have  a  ])roverb :  "  ?Ie  eats  both  ends  of  his  candle  al 
once."  Having  dissi])ated  his  ancestral  jiatrimony  to  the  last  farthing,  the 
thriftless  ami  degenei'ate  Coddington  descended  all  the  steps  from  siiahhy 
gentility  to  actual  destitution  ;  ;  t,  through  all  these  reverses,  he  maifitained 
the  bearing  of  a  fine  gentlema!-.  One  day  he  was  ottered  a  new  suit  of  clothes 
— his  own  had  the  threadbare  glo^;s  of  long  ai)pli<'ation  of  the  brush — for  tlio 
Coddington  escutcheon  thai  hatl  descended  to  him.  Drawing  himself  up  with 
the  old  look  ann  air,  lie  indignantly  excl;iimed,  "  What,  sell  the  coat  ol'aiins 
of  a  Coddington  !"  Nevertheless,  he  at  last  became  an  innnite  of  the  pnui- 
lioiise  at  Coddington's  Cove;  and  that  is  tlie  way  the  family  eseutche-n  canio 
to  be  hanging  in  th"  City  Hall.     I  tidl  you  the  story  as  it  was  told  to  me. 

The  Wantoi:  House,  still  pointed  out  in  Thames  Street,  nniy  be  known  hy 
its  ornamented  ccu'tiice  and  general  air  of  superior  condition.  It  stands  within 
a  stone's-throw  of  tlie  City  ilall.  The  W.anlons,  like  the  Malbones,  (Godfreys, 
IJrentons,  Wickliams,  Cranstons,  and  otlier  liiirh- sounding  Newport  names, 


'  This  wiiN  ciillcd  an  n]»peiil  to  I'le  conntrv.     A  judge  would  hardly,  at  tlie  preHcnt  day.  pLi'tiit 
siieii  ail  expression  in  eourt. 


NEWI'OHT   OF  AQriDXHCK. 


303 


c,  therefore  I 


tings.    "NVliiit 
:i!iy  none  cUo 

])ity,  ^Ir.  <.'ud- 

'the  assihtatils 
licir  testimony 
eviik'iit  roliK'- 
s  wi're  scviM'iil 
\ic'stioii.'  llml 
L"  lliitcliiiisons, 
ilebriitcd  raiisu 

m  old  and  lioii- 
loreditary  I'am- 
ipeoted,  aiiionif 
t  his  head  wlioii 

le  basin  called 
Tlie  last  Cod- 
rh,  like  Heine's 
was  no  HKire 
liis  t'aiidle  ;;l 
-.1  i'arlliiiii:-.  ll>e 
s  from  sliahhy 
,li('  niaintaineil 
suit  ofelotlies 
brush — for  tlio 
linisclf  lip  witli 
,.  c'oat  of  anus 
te  of  tilt'  i>oor- 
cutche'jn  I'ainc 
told  to  nu". 
•  bi'  known  hy 
It  stands  witliiti 
,iu's,  Godfreys, 
i'Wport  names, 

liesent  day.  i"  i'liit 


wore  merchants.  Like  tlie  Wontworlhs  of  Xow  llainpsliire,  tliis  was  a  family, 
I  mii^ht  almost  say  a  dynasty,  of  governors.  Wlicn  one  Wanton  went  (»ut, 
iinniher  came  in.  It  was  the  Iiouse  of  Wanton,  governing,  with  few  intervals, 
fpim  1 7.12,  until  swept  from  j)lace  by  the  Kevolution.'  As  the  king  never  dii's, 
at  tlie  exit  of  a  Wanton  the  sheriif  should  have  announced,  "  The  governor  is 
dead.      Long  live  the  governor  !" 

.ioseph  Wanton,  the  last  governor  of  IJhode  Island  under  the  crown,  was 
the  son  of  William.  Jle  was  a  Jlai'vard  man,  amialdr,  wealthy,  of  degant 
maimers,  and  handsome  person.  In  the  descrij)tion  of  his  out'vard  appearance 
we  are  told  that  he  "  wore  a  large  Avliite  wig  with  three  curls,  one  falling 
duwii  his  back,  and  one  Ibrward  on  each  slioul  ler."  I  have  nowhere  met  witli 
all  earlier  claimant  of  the  fashion  so  recently  in  vogue  among  young  ladies 
wlin  had  hearts  to  lose. 

'fuming  out  of  narrow  and  noisy  Thames  Street  into  the  broader  and 
iiiiieter  avenues  ascuiuling  the  hill,  we 
tiiid  ourselves  on  the  Parade  before  the  ^  - 

Siatcdiouse.     ]>road   Street,  which   en-  -•  _^ 

ters  it  on  one  side,  was  the  old  Moston 
!iii:!i-roael ;  Touro  Sti'eet,  debouching  at 
liii'  "ther,  loses  its  identity  ere  long  in 


Inllevue  Avenue,  and  is,  beyond  eo 


m- 


punsoi 


n,  the  pleasantcst  walk  in  New 


1 


lioit. 


'fhc  Parade,  also  called  Washiu'-t 


on 


Siinare,  is  the  delta  into  which  the  main 
avt'Mues  of  Newport  flow.  It  is,  tliere- 
foiv,  admirably  calculated  as  a  starting- 
|iniiit  for  tliose  street  rambles  that  every 
visitor  has  enjoyed  in  antici|iation.  On 
this  'j;i'ound  I  sav,  some  companies  of 
tlie  Newport  Artillery  going  through  lludr  evolutions  with  th(^  steadiness  of 


m:\\  eoKT  sr.vrr.  iioisF,, 


ds(dd 


lers. 


heir  oruaiii/al  ion  ixoes 


ba(dv  to  ITU,  and  is  niaintaineil  with  an 


'i/iri/  lie  corps  that  a  people  not  long  since  engaged  in  w:ir  ought  to  know 
liiiw  to  estimate  at  its  true  value.  A  custom  of  the  corps,  as  I  have  hearil, 
"IS  to  lire  a  ffi'  ifijoir  under  the  windows  of  a  newly  married  comratle; 
il'a  eoinmissioiied  officer,  a  ficdd-piece. 

,    At  the  righ.t  of  the  Parade,  and  a  little  above  the  Imttd  of  his  name,  stands 
the  Iiouse  purchased  by  Commodore  Perry  after  the  battle  ol'  l^ake  Krie ;   in 


'  AVillinni  Wniitoii.  I7;!ii  to  17:;t ;  Jolin  Wnnton.l78Mo  1741;  Gideon  Wmitnii,  17 1.".  lo  174(;. 
iiiul  I'miii  I7i7l')  174;s:  .J()sc|ili  Wanton,  fmm  17(1'.)  to  177").  Tlie  hist  minieil  lut'i  \tn\]M)rt  villi 
'lie  Hriii-li,  in  17S().  uml  dioil  in  Nu  .•  York.  His  son  .loseiili.  junior,  c.'niinanded  tlie  regiment 
I't'loxiiliftis  raisoU  on  llie  i>laiHi. 


;304 


THE  \i:W  ENGLAND  COAST. 


coMMODoiin  I'EKia's  iiorsE. 


Cliirke  Street,  n('ar-l)y,  is  tlie  cliurch  in  whicli  Dr.  Stiles,  iifterwartl  president 
of  Yale,  preached,  built  in  17:>:!;  and  next  beycjnd  is  the  gini-hoiise  of  the 
Newport  Artillery. 

The  State-honse  is  a  pk-asinLT,  though   not  imposing,  building,  known  ti. 

all  evening  j)ronienaders  in 
Newport  by  the  illnniinati'il 
eloek  in  the  jK'dinient  of  tlic 
fayade.  It  is  in  the  si  vie 
of  colonial  arehiteclure  of 
the  middle  of  the  last  centu- 
ry, having  two  stories,  with 
a  wooden  balustrade  sur- 
mounting the  roof  Tiic 
pediment  of  the  front  i> 
tojiped  by  a  cupohi,  and 
underneath  is  a  balcniiv. 
from  which  jiroclamaliuns, 
with  "(Jod  siive  the  kiii^"' 
at  the  end  of  them,  liavi' 
been  read  to  assembled  colonists;  as  in  these  latter  days,  on  the  last  Tnes- 
day  of  Miiy,  wiiich  is  the  annual  election  in  Rhode  Island,  after  a  good  dciil 
of  parading  about  the  streets,  the  officials  elect  are  here  inti'octuced  by  the 
high  shc'itt'  wilh  a  flourish  of  woids  :  "Hear  ye  I  Take  notice  that  his 
Excellency,  Governor  ,  of  Dashville,  is  elected  govei'nor,  commander- 
in-chief,  and  captairi -general  of  IJhode  Island  for  the  year  ensuing,  (iod 
save  the  State  of  Uhode  L. land,  and  Providence  I'lantations  !"  The  candi- 
date smiles,  bows,  and  withdraws,  and  the  j)oj)u!'U't>,  as  in  duty  l)ound,  clu'crs 
itself  hoarse.  It  loves  the  old  I'orms,  though  some  of  tliem  seem  eumhrdns 
for  "Little  llhody."  Sometimes  a  sheriff  has  been  known  to  get  his  forinuhi 
"out  of  joint,"  and  to  tack  the  words  "for  the  yeai'  ensuing"  at  the  end  of 
the  invocation. 

During  the  Revolution  the  State-house  was  used  as  a  hospital  by  Ihitish 
and  French,  ami  of  course  much  alnisetl.  In  the  restoration  some  little  sa\iir 
of  its  ancient  cpiaintness  is  missed.  The  interior  lias  paneled  wainscoting, 
carved  balusters,  and  wood-work  in  the  old  style  of  elegance.  The  walls  (tf 
the  Senate  chamber  are  sheathed  (jnite  up  to  the  ceiling,  in  beautiful  jianci- 
ing,  relieved  by  a  massive  coi-nice.  Stuart's  full-length  portrait  of  Wasliinj^- 
ton,  in  the  well-known  black  velvet  and  rulHes,  is  here.  I  have  somewin  iv 
seen  that  the  French  "  desecrated,"  as  sonu;  would  say,  the  building  by  rais- 
ing an  altar  on  which  to  say  nniss  Ibr  the  sick  and  dying.  In  the  garret  I 
saw  a  section  of  the  old  pillory  that  formerly  stood  in  the  vacant  s[)ac(i  ho- 
Ibru  the  building.  Many  thiidv  the  restoration  of  stocks,  whipping-post,  and 
pillory  would  do  more  to-day  to  HU])pri   3  petty  criiucs  than  months  of  iia- 


NKWl'OllT   OF   AQl'IDXECK. 


SGI 


arcl  presidi'iit 
-liouse  of  tlif 

n'j,  known  1i. 
•onR'niuliMs  ill 
lie  ilhiminatvil 
I'dinii'nl  ot'tln' 
s  in   iho  s^lxir 
ivliiU'cUuv  uf 
tilt'  last  (•(Mitu- 
'o  stories,  with 
alustriule   sui- 
le    roof.      Till' 
the    front    i> 
a    cujiol'i,  and 
is    a    balcniiy. 
procdaiiialiiiiis, 
<:ivc  the  kiiii;  ' 
vi'  them,  h;i\f 
llie  last  TuL's- 
ei"  a  n'ooil  deiil 
•odiiced  by  the 
lotice   that  lii> 
coniinandiT- 
(lod 
"     The  eandi- 
bouiid,  elieer^ 
eeni  cinnhrniis 
ret  his  forinulu 
at  the  end  of 

it;il  by  l>iiti>!i 

me  little  savtii' 

1  wainscot  iiiir, 

'The  walls  of 

eaiitifnl  paiiel- 

1  (if  Washini;- 

ive  sonieuin  IV 

ildiiiL;"  by  r.ii^- 

^n  the  garnt  I 

leant  snaoe  he- 

tl)ing-l>i>st,  and 

huonthfl  of  iiu- 


ensuing 


prisoninent.  They  still  cling  in  Delaware  to  their  w]ii|iping-|)Ost.  There, 
llii'V  assert,  the  dread  of  public  exposure  tends  to  lessen  crime. 

The  ]>illory,  whicli  a  few  living  pei-soiis  remember,  was  usually  on  a  mov- 
able ])latibrni,  which  the  sheriff  could  turn  at  i)leasure,  making  the  culprit 
liniit  the  different  points  of  the  com[)ass  it  was  the  custom  to  insert  in  the 
M'uience.     Whipping  at  the  cart's  tail  was  also  practiced. 

Onciofthe  linest  old  characters  IJIiode  Island  has  produced  was  Tristram 
IJiirgess,  who  administered  to  that  dried-up  bundle  of  malignity,  dohn  Kan- 
(lolph,  a  rebuke  so  scathing  that  the  A'irginian  was  for  the  time  comi)letely 
silenced.  Having  rouseil  the  lihode  Islander  by  liis  Satanic  sneering  at 
Xiirthern  character  and  thrift,  his  merciless  criticism,  and  incomparably  bit- 


ter sarcasm,  Burgess  dealt  him  this  sentence  on  the  floor  of  Conu'ress 


Moral 


niims 


ters  can  not,  propagate;  we  rejoice  that  the  father  of  lies  can  never  be- 


come the  iather  of  liars." 

It  was  at  first  intended  to  place  tlie  State  house  with  its  front  toward 
Vili.it  was  then  l<nown  as  "the  swamp,"' in  the  direction  of  Farewell  Street. 
In  174:5  it  was  completed,     JUiode  Isl- 
and   may  with    advantage    iollow  the  ,  /  .^ 
lend  of  Connecticut  in  abolishing  one 
ol'  its  seats  of  government.     At  present 
iis  constitution  provides  that  the  .\s- 
soinbly  shall  meet  and  organize  at  \ew- 

1 


IKirt,  and  hold  an  adjourned  session  at 


ro 


vidence, 


^v 


liking    onward    and    upward    111 


Toui-o    Street,  the    visitor    sees    at    its 

junction    with    Kay    Street    what    he 

iiiiglii  easily  mistake  for  a  pretty  and 

and   well-ti'nded   garden,  but  for  the 

mortuary  emblems  sculptured   on  the 

ii'ate-way.     The   chaste   and   beautiful 

ilcsigii  of  this  portal,  I'veii  to  the  inverted  flambeaux,  is  a  couiUerpart  of  that 

(if  the  Old  Granary  ground  at  Hoston.     This  is  the  Jewish  Cemetery. 

"How  strange  it  seems!     Tlicise  Ilelirew.s  in  ilu-ir  finn'cs, 
Close  liy  tlic  street  of  this  tJiir  sca-])oit  town. 
SiUiiit  beside  the  never-silent  waves. 

At  rest  in  all  this  moviii}^  n|i  niui  down  I 

"And  these  se|MilcInal  stones,  so  old  and  laown, 
That  pave  with  level  flaj^s  their  hnrial-plaee, 
Sccni  like  the  tablets  of  the  I-aw,  thiMvvn  down 
And  hioken  liv  Moses  at  the  inonntain's  Imse." 


'  One  of  the  most  eurions  cliaiiters  of  Rhode  Island's  pnlitieal  history  was  the  "  Dmr  Ilehcll- 
ion"  of  1S42,  growinj^  out  of  a  jiartial  and  limited  fianoliise  under  the  oKl  eharier. 


■^^iiiiiMiiHta 


866 


TIIK  NEW  ENGLAND   COAST. 


Close   at  liaiid  is   the   synagogue,  in  wliicli  services  are  no  longer  hcid, 
thougli,  like   the  cemetery,  it  is  scrupulously   cared   fur,'     The  silence  iuul 

mystery  which  brood  over  each  are 
deepened  hy  this  reverent  guardian- 
ship of  unseen  hands.  In  170'J  tlic 
synagogue  was  dedicated  with  the  mi- 
lenniities  of  Jewish  religious  usanc 
It  was  then  distinguished  as  the  hcst 
building  of  its  kind  in  the  country. 
The   interior    was    lieh    and    elegant. 

Over  the   reading-desk  hung  u   I' 

brass  chandelier;  in  the  centre,  :ui.i  al 
jiroper  distances  around  it,  four  othiis. 
( )n  the  I'ront  of  1^'e  desk  stood  a  paii'  of 
highly  ornamented  brass  candlesticks, 
and  at  the  entrance  on  the  east  siiic 
were  four  otliers  of  the  same  size  and 
workmanship.  As  usual,  there  was  tor 
the  women  a  gallery,  scrcf  ;ed  with 
carved  net-work,  resting  on  coliuniis. 
Over  this  gallery  another  rank  of  col- 
umns supported  the  roof.  It  was  lln 
commonly  received  oi»iinon  that  tin 
lamp  hanging  above  the  altar  was 
never  extinguished. 
The  Hebrews  began  to  settle  on  the  island  before  10/  <,  The  deed  of  their 
ancient  burial-place  is  dated  in  this  year.  They  first  worshiped  in  a  private 
house.  Accessions  came  to  them  from  Spain,  from  I'ortngal,  and  from  Hol- 
land, with  such  names  as  Lopez,  Hiveriera,  Scixas,  and  Touro,  until  tiie  con- 
gregation numbered  as  many  as  three  hundred  families.  The  stranser  he- 
comes  familiar  with  the  name  of  Touro,  whicli  at  first  he  wouhl  have  Tniio, 
from  the  street  and  park,  no  less  than  the  respect  with  which  it  is  pronounced 
by  all  old  residents.  The  Hebrews  of  old  Newj)ort  seem  to  have  fulfilled  tlii' 
destiny  of  their  race,  becoming  scattered,  and  finally  extinct.  IMoscs  Lopez 
is  said  to  have  been  the  last  resident  Jew,  tliongh,  unless  I  mistake,  the  He- 
brew i.hysiognomy  met  me  more  than  once  in  Newport.  This  fraction 
formed  one  of  the  curious  constituents  of  Newport  society.  Its  history  is 
emled,  and  "/-V/y/.s"  might  be  writien  above  tlu;  entrances  of  synagogue  and 
cemetery. 

Lord  Chesterfield  once  told  Lady  Shirley,  in  a  serious  conversation  on  tlio 
evidences  of  Christianity,  that  there  was  one  which  he  thought  to  be  invin- 


jews'    syNXGUULE,  M:W1'(^1M'. 


A  ;iiiul  l>e(iiientlied  by  Abrnlmiu  Tuiiio,  who  (iie!  in  Boston  in  1H22,  secures  this  ohjeot. 


NEWruKT   OF  AQUllJNlX'Iv. 


3cr 


)  longer  hclil, 
le  silonce  and 
jvcr  each  are 
;c'Mt  guai'di.iii- 
In  1702  ihc 
d  with  tlie  so- 
■liu;ious  iisn^L'. 
vi[  as  the  Ik'sI 
1  tlie  coiuitry. 
an<l    ('lv^■alll, 

huiii>'   ii  1" 

>  coiitro,  :iiiti  at 
.  it,  tour  otliL'is. 

stood  a  pan- of 
^s  can<ll('slicks, 
1  the  cast  sitlo 

same  size  and 
il,  there  was  tbi' 

sere'  ;cil  witl: 
ig  on  cohiiii.is. 
ler  rank  ot'  col- 
of.  It  was  lla- 
)inion   tliat  tli(^ 

tlie    altar   was 

e  deed  oftlicir 

ed  ill  a  private 

iiid  from  llol- 

uiitil  tlie  coil- 

e  stranger  he- 

\  have  Truro, 

is  ]ir()'ioiiii('i'il 

ve  fiiHined  tlw 

Moses  T.O|H'Z 

stake,  the  Hc- 

riiis    fractKUi 
Its  histor\-  is 


vnagogiie  ami 


•rsation  on  the 
It  to  be  inviii- 

es  this  object. 


cible,  namely,  the  present  state  of  tlie  Jews— a  fact  to  be  accounted  for  on  no 
human  principle.  The  Hebrew  customs  have  remained  inviolate  amidst  all 
the  strange  iniitations  which  time  lias 
brought.  The  b^abbalh  by  which  Sliv- 
lofk  registered  his  wicked  oath  is  still 
the  Christian's  Saturday.  In  the  Jew- 
ish burial  rile  the  grave  was  filled  in 
by  the  nearest  of  kin. 

In  no  other  cemetery  in  Xe"-  En- 
gland have  I  been  so  impressed  with 
the  sanctity,  the  inviolability  of  the 
last  resting-idace  of  the  dead,  as  here 
iiiiioiig  the  graves  of  a  ilesjdsed  people. 
Th-'  idea  of  eternal  rest  seemed  really 
present.  Xot  long  since  I  heard  the 
]ieo])le  of  a  thriving  sul)iirb  discussing 
the  removal  of  tlu'ir  old  burial-])lace, 
bodily — I  mean  ;io  play  upon  the  word 
—to  the  skirts  of  the  town,  l)l'in^' 
done,  it  was  thought  the  land  would 
jiay  I'or  the  removal,  and  prove  a  prot- 
itahU'  speculation.  Since  Abraham 
iiave  four  hundred  shekcds  of  silver  for 
the  iield  of  Kphroii,  the  Israelites  have 
rcM  rciieed  the  sepulchres  wlu'rein  they 
bury  their  dead.  Here  is  religion  without  ostentation.  In  our  great  mauso- 
k'uiiis  is  plenty  of  ostentation,  but  little  ndigion. 

The  visitor  here  may  note  another  distinctive  custom  ot  this  ancient  ])eo- 
jile,  The  inscription  above  the  gate  reads,  "  Krected  o603,  from  a  betpiest 
made  bv  Abraham  Touro."'  Tliev  eomnute  the  passage  of  time  from  the 
cieal  ion. 

An  hour,  or  many  hours,  may  be  well  spent  in  the  liedwood  Library,  found- 
ed by  Abraham  Kedwood,^  (Mie  of  the  Qn^'ker  magnates  of  old  Newport. 


.11  IIAU     lOlHO, 


can 


'  .IiuImIi  Toifit),  tlie  philantlirn])ist,  was  born  Iicrc  in  Novvporr.  in  \'~'t,  ilie  year  of  AiiuMici.  , 
iQviili.     His  t'atlicr,  tlie  old  rabbi.  Isaiu'.  came  lVr)in  lIollHnil,  officiating  as  preacher  in   17tl'_'  in 


Ni'tt|iur*.     AVlu'H  still  a  yonns;  man.  Jiulah  Touro  removed  ro  New  Orleans,  where  he  ae<iuireil  i 
fiirtiinn.     llo  was  a  volunteer  in  the  battle  of  lSl."i.  and  wa^  woinided  by  u  cnnnon-lmll  in  the  hip. 
'!'liiiiii;ii  a  Jew,  .Indali  Totn'o  was  above  sect,  ^rcncrously  contribulin;;  to  Christian  chinrh  enler- 
prisis.     ]5iniker  Hill  Moniiinen!.  towanl  wliii  li  he  pive  tei   thousand  dollars,  is  a  memorial  of  his 
|ialri(.iic  liheridity. 

''  It  Wits  inror|ioratC(l  1747 :  the  same  year  Mr.  K'.'dwood  pive  five  hundred  pounds  sterlini;.  in 
iMKiks,  or  about  ihirtceu  h'Midred  volumes.  Tiie  lot  was  the  gift  of  Ileiny  Collins,  in  17tH;  iiuiid- 
iiig  elected  1748-*.'JO;  enlarged  in  17.")8;  and  no.v  (1875)  a  new  building  is  erectinj;.     Abraiiam 


308 


TllK    NKW    KNdLAM)   COAST. 


His  lino  and  kindly  I'acu  lias  biMi  caici'uUy  reproduced  in  llic  '  n_!^raving.  TIio 
library  building  is  in  tlie  ])uro  yet  severe  style  of  a  (ireek  temple.  'I'lic 
l)ainter  Stuart  considered  it  classical  and  I'clined.  Il  has  a  cool  and  secliidtM] 
look,  standing  back  iVoni  the  street  and  shaded  by  trees,  that  is  inviting-  to 


tl 


le      appreciative 


visitor, 
one    o 
tutioib 


TI 


lis      IS 


1"  ll 


le    iiisti- 


.f     \ 


cw- 


lort 


NVlllcIl 


may    jnaisi;    wiih. 


out  stmt 


ll  1 


I  as 


grown      Willi     Its 
urowtli :   vet,  at'tur 


rene 


ated 


eiilar<'i'- 


111- 


TiiE  ui:i)\v()i)i)  i.iiiiiAin. 


iiients,  tilt' 
creased  colli'ctions 
in  art  and  lilcra- 
ture  of  this  store- 
house of  tlioiiiiiit 
iiavc  di'iiianik'd 
greater  space. 

Another  Ik'h- 
factor  woriliy  id 
be  ranked  with 
Abraham         luii- 


wood  was  Charles  iJird  King,  whose  portrait  is  lianglng  in  the  hall.  At  Iiis 
ileath  lie  made  a  munificent  bequest  of  I'eal  estate,  yielding  nine  tliousaiid 
dollars,  his  valuable  library,  engravings,  and  more  than  two  liundi 
])aintitigs  which  now  :fdorii  the  walls. 


en  oi 


tlif 


Among  other  portraits  hero  are  those  of  I>isho]i  IJerkeley  in  cannnicnls, 
and  of  Governor  Josepli  Wanton^  in  scarlet  coat  and  periwig,  his  face  lookini: 
as  if  he  and  good  living  were  no  Strang'  -s  to  each  other;  of  Williatii  ('nil- 
(lington,and  of  a  long  catalogue  of  soldiers  and  statesmen,  many  being  (opics 
by  Mr.  King.  The  library  suffered  from  pilfering  during  the  British  occupa- 
tion:   it  now  numbers  something  in  excess  of  twenty  thous;ind  volumes,' 

1  admit  the  tir.st  object  in  Newport  I  went  to  see  was  the  Old  Stone  Mill. 
I  went  directly  to  it,  and  should  not  venture  to  conduct  the  reailer  by  any 
route  that  «lid  not  lead  to  it.     I  returned  often,  and  could  onlv  wonder  at 


Itodwond  was  .'v  iiiUivo  of  Aiuif,'iiii.  Wlioii  tin-  lilirnrv  sont  its  (■(uninittoc  to  Stiiiivt.  with  ii  loni- 
inissiiiii  to  jiiiint  a  f'ull-loiigtli  portriiit  of  Mi'.  Hetlwood,  Stiiiut  ret'iLSod,  lur  leasoii::  of  liis  own,  to 
execiito  It. 

'  i)r.  Ezra  StiK^s  was  librarian  for  twciitv  rears. 


NEwroirr  of  aquidnkck. 


301) 


graving.  The 
tc'inplo.     The 

1  jind  sc'cliiiU'd 

is  iiivitiii;j,-  lo 

apprcciiilivc 

or.  This  is 
of    llic    iiisli- 

DllS        tit'      Nl'W- 

wliirli       all 
'    ]ir:iisi!    wiili- 
stiiit.      It  has 
uii      with     its 
wtli ;  yrt,  al'ti'V 
L^titod     I'lilar^u- 
its,      the      in- 
:isch1  eolkH'tioiis 
art   ami  lilera- 
e  of  this  store- 
ISC'    of    thnllniil 
,'C        lU'iiiaiiili'il 
■atcr  space. 
Another   laMi- 
tor    worthy   to 
ranked     with 
raliam         Ke'l- 
'lall.     At  liis 
nine  thousand 
undreil  of  the 

in  canonicals, 
lis  liu'e  lookiiiir 
Williain  (••m1- 
ly  being  copies 
Jrilisli  occiipa- 
volnnies,' 
)ld  Stone  Mill, 
reader  l>y  any 
•nlv  wonihr  at 


tn;nt.  wiiii  a  ii""- 
;oiu-  of  Ilia  own,  to 


the  seeming   iiulitrerenco   of  people   constantly    passing,  bnt   never  lookini 


at  It. 

The  Old  Stone  Alill  stainls  within  the  pleasant  inelosnro  of  Tonro  l*ark,  a 
place  as  fitting  as  any  in  Newport  for  the  beginiung  of  a  sentimental  jonr- 
iu'\.  It  is  a  pretty  sight  on  ii  sunnner's  evening,  this  green  spot,  dotted  with 
moving  fignr(;s  sauntering  np  and  down  under  liie  grim  shadow  of  this  jjie- 
tincs(pie  ruin.'     Hy  moonlight  it  is  superb. 

No  structure  in  America  is  probably  so  familiar  to  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  as  this  ruined  mill.  The  frecpuMU-y  of  pictorial  representation  has 
li.vcd  its  general  form  and  character  until  there  is  probably  not  a  school-boy 
ill  his  teens  who  would  not  be  able  to 
iiiaki'  a  rude  sketch  of  it  on  the  black- 
board. For  years  it  has  been  the 
toughest  liistorical  ^>/ccf'  de  resistance 
our  anti(pniries  liave  bad  to  deal  with, 
and  by  many  it.  was  sui)posed  to  em- 
body a  secret  as  impenetrable  as  that 
of  Stonelienge. 

The  Old  31111  was  dozing  quietly 
away  on  this  bill,  when,  in  is;5(j,  the  So- 
ciety of  Northern  Antiquaries,  of  Co- 
penhagen, declared  it  to  be  evidence  of 


the  dis 


scovei'y  and  o"cupatn)n  ot  New- 
port by  Northmen,  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tiny.  .Vn  liistorical  cliain  was  iiniiie- 
(liately  sought  to  be  established  be- 
tween Dighton  Rock,  an  exhumed  skel- 
I'toH  at  Fall  liiver,  and  this  tower,  of 
which  the  inscription  at  l\lonIiegan  Isl- 
iiiid  was  believed  to  be  another  link. 

('omnion  opinion,  prior  to  the  dec- 
lavatidii  of  the  Danish  antiquaries,  was 
that  the  tower  was  the  remains  of  a  windmili,  ami  nothing  more.  In  a  gaz- 
I'tteei- (tfl'hode  Island,  printed  in  1810,  is  the  following  i)aragrapli:  "In  this 
town  (Newport)  there  is  now  standing  an  ancient  stone  mill,  the  erection  of 
wbieh  is  beyond  tlie  date  of  its  earliest  records;  but  it  is  sni)posed  to  have 
been  erected  by  the  first  settlers,  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  years  ago. 
It  i^  an  interesting  monument  of  anti(piity.'" 


'  He  discovery  ot'iiny  jioition  nf  tlic  coast  of  New  iMi^^laiid  by  Xnrtlitnen  IjcIouks  to  tlie  realms 
iif  iiiiijceture.  It  is  not  iiiireasonalile  to  siipiiose  tliat  lliey  may  have  lalleii  in  wiili  liie  eoniiiieiit; 
liiii  «li;it  slioidJ  have  brrainlit  tiieni  so  far  south  iis  Rhode  Island,  wlien  N-  •'  Seoiia  mnst  have  m])- 
IH'invi!  to  tlieir  eyes  a  j)aiadiso?  Tlie  \'nii  grows  there,  (.'hamphiiii  called  Kichmoiid's  Island  Isle 
lit!  li::i  eiius,  on  account  of  its  grapes.  * 

24 


■tSai'"^'''"''^'''" 


y70 


TIIK   NKW    KNGLAM)   COAST. 


About  tliis  lime  Tiinotliy  Dwiuhl,  formerly  ])resiilent  of  Vale,  wn^  in 
Newport.     In  liis  letters,  published  in   1822,  he  has  somethiiiij;  to  sayot'ilic 

Old    Stone  ^lill: 
_  z::ff:iy'^<-:'-    '  "   -   ._  "On    a   skirt   of 

this  town  is  the 
foundation  of  ;i 
windmill  ere cit'd 
some  time  in  vln 
seventeenth  cen- 
tury. The  CL'- 
meiit  of  tlii> 
work,  formed  v( 
shell -lime  uu\ 
beaeh  y;ravel,  has 
all  the  lirnuiess 
ol'voman  mortar, 
and  when  bro- 
ken oft'  fre(|nunt- 
ly  brin<^s  with  it 
])art  of  the  slonc. 
Time  has  maileno 
imj»ression  on  it, 
exeeptto  iiicreaso 
its  iirmiiess.  It 
would  be  an  im- 
provement in  tlic 
art  of  buiidiiiL!;  in 
this  eouiitry,  it' 
mortar  maile  in 
the  same  nianncr 
were  to  be  gener- 
ally employed.'" 

All  readers  of  early  New  Eiinland  history  know  that  noihinii:  was  tco 
trivial,  in  the  opinion  of  those  old  ehronielers,  to  be  reeorded,  WiiitliiDi) 
mentions  the  dii^ging-up  of  a  Freiieh  eoin  at  Doiehester  in  1043.  It  is  p"r- 
tinent  to  inquire  wliy  Roger  Williams,  Hubbard,  Mather,  the  antiquary,  and 
(correspondent  of  the  IJoyal  Soeiety,  Prinee,  Iluteliinson,  and  others,  havo 
wholly  Ignored  the  presence  of  an  old  ruin  antedating  the  English  oceupatinn 
of  Uhode  Islainl  ?  Would  n.it  Canoiiicus  have  led  the  wliite  men  to  the  >|i(it, 
and  there  reeomited  the  traditions  of  his  ])eople?  No  spot  of  ground  in  Xi'W 
England  has  had  more  learned  and  observing  annalists.     Where  were  IJi-hoji 


^'  .    ■, .- ^'  ^    ^     !'^0^\^-^  . ' 


THI';   (11,1)   STOMC    Mll.l,, 


•  "Tiiivels  ill  New  Knglaiul  :iiul  New  Yoik:""  New  Il.iven,  1822,  vol.  iii.,  p.  oG. 


NKWrOUT  OF   AQUIDNKCK. 


■Ml 


Bcrkolcy,  liocliumboau,  Cliastcllux,  Laiizuii,  Abbu  llobiii,  Si'j^ur,  Diinias,  and 
Deux  -  Pouts,  tliat  they  make  no  mention,  in  their  writings  or  memoirs,  ol" 
tlic  roniarkablo  areha'oh>gical  remains  at  Newport?  Yet,  on  tlie  report  of 
till'  Danisli  Society,  nearly  or  (jnite  all  our  American  liistorians  have  admit  t('<l 
tlnir  theory  of  tlie  ori<ji;in  of  the  Old  Stone  Mill  to  their  pages.  AVith  this 
Iculing,  and  the  ready  credence  the 
inaivflous  always  obtains,  tlie   public  * 

VL'stt'd  satisiicd.' 

The  windmill  was  an  object  of  tlie  -* 

first  necessity  to  the  settlers.  More  of 
tliiin  may  be  seen  on  Khode  Ishuid  to- 
(l;iy  tlian  in  all  the  rest  of  Xew  En- 
gliiiid.  That  this  mill  should  iiave  been 
built  of  stone  is  in  no  way  surprising, 
considering  that  the  surliice  of  the 
ground  must  have  been  bestrewed  with 
stones  of  i»rop"r  size  and  shape  ready 
to  the  builders'  hands."  1  saw  these 
Hat  stones  of  which  tlie  tower  is  built 
turned  up  V)y  the  jilowsliare  in  the 
roads.  Throughout  the  island  the  walls 
are  composed  of  them.'' 

The  cut  on  tlie  ])rece(liiig  page  rep- 
rt'sonts  the  Old  Slone  .Mill,  with  the 
moon's  radiance  illuminating  its  arches. 
It  is  a  cylindrical  tower,  resting  on  eiglit 
rude  columns,  also  cii'cular.  The  arches  have  no  proper  key-stone,'' and  two 
ot'  tliem  appear  broader  than  the  others,  as  if  desigued  for  the  entraueo  of 
some  kind  of  vehicde.  One  column  is  so  placed  as  to  sliow  an  inner  pr(>jec- 
tioii,  !in  evident  fault  of  workmanship.     Two  stages  are  also  apparent,  and 

'  Anionf;  the  records  of  N'owport  was  fouiul  one  of  IV  Id,  in  wliicli  IvKvjird  Pelliiim  lieiiiiciitlicd 
lo  liis  (limjicliter  eiglit  acres  of  liuiil,  "  wirii  iiti  Old  Stone  Wind  Mill  thereon  standing  and  being, 
mill  n.Miinonly  callod  and  kiio\Mi  as  the  Mill  Field."  The  lane  now  called  Mill  Street  ajipears  to 
liavc  1)0011  so  naineil  from  its  eondueting  up  the  hill  to  the  mill.  T'.ie  wife  of  I'elliain  was  grand- 
(l:uit,'!itor  of  Governor  Benedict  Arnold.  In  the  governor's  will,  dated  in  l(i77,  lie  gives  direction 
for  his  liiirial  in  a  piece  of  ground  "being  and  lying  in  my  laiul  in  or  near  y"  line  or  jiatli  from  my 
dwcUiiij^-liouse,  leading  to  my  stone-biiilt  Wind  .Mill  in  y  town  of  Newport  above  mentioned." 

"  I  incline  to  the  opinion  that  the  Indians  had  here,  as  at  I'lymoiith,  cleared  a  considerable  area. 
There  the  carpenters  had  to  go  ati  eighth  of  a  mile  for  timber  suitable  for  building. 

'Within  five  miles  of  Boston  is  standing  an  ancient  stone  windmill,  erected  about  1710.  It 
liiul  lii'eii  so  long  used  as  a  powiier-magazine  that  no  tradition  remaiiieil  in  the  neighborhood  that 
it  li:ul  ever  been  a  windmill.     They  still  call  it  the  Old  I'owder-hoiise. 

*  !'he  keys  arc  compomid,  and,  though  rude,  are  tolerably  defined.  No  tvo  are  alike ;  they  are 
gt'iiL'r;illy  of  a  Imrd  gray  stone,  instead  of  the  slate  used  in  the  structure. 


"-1  u.jv"':'. 


■1  ■'*--'ry''-*,Lf^mW^7mK-:'^^^     ' 


It' 


TU1-;  rioitnv  mommknt. 


raiMTTUHIIMnW 


;}7.J  THE   Ni:\V  KNCiLAM)  COAST. 

tliere  aro  two  windows  and  a  fir('-])laco.  On  tlio  insi<le  llio  Iiannohos  arc 
cut  to  receive  llic  tinihcrs  of  the  lirst- floor,  Just  at  the  turn  of  tlie  ardi. 
Some  ccnu'iit  is  still  seen  adlu'riui?  to  the  interior  walls.  The  whole  towci  I 
estimated  to  be  twenty-tive  feet  hij^li,  with  an  inside  diameter  of  twenty  Hct. 
This  was  ])robably  nearly  or  (juite  its  original  height.  For  the  rude  niali'- 
rials,  it  is  a  remarkable  specimen  of  masonry.' 

I  (!()uld  see  that  even  some  of  the  best-informed  Xewporters  with  wlinni  1 
talked  were  reluctant  to  let  go  tlie  traditional  anliijuity  of  their  Old  Stdiiu 
Mill.  It  is  more  interesting  when  tinged  with  the  romance  of  Norse  vikiiin;s 
than  as  the  prosaic  liandiwork  of  Knglish  colonists,  who  liad  corn  to  griml, 
though  American  antitjuaries  have  ceased  to  attribute  to  it  any  other  oriiiin. 
I  confess  to  a  feeling  of  remorse  in  aiding  to  destroy  the  illusion  which  li.is  so 
long  made  the  Old  Mill  a  tower  of  strength  to  Newport  Its  beauty,  wlicii 
seen  draped  in  ivy  and  woodbine,  clustering  so  thickly  as  to  screen  its  gray 
walls  from  view,  is  at  least  not  apocryphal. 


'  Tliis  buililing  may  liave  heon  iiiLMUioiieil  h\  Cliiircli  in  liis  account  of  Philip's  War,  wlioii,  nt'ior 
some  display  of  aversion  on  tlie  ])art  of  a  certain  captain  to  a  danfieioiis  enterprise,  he  was  adviswl 
liy  the  Indian  tighter  to  lead  his  men  "to  the  windmill  on  Rhode  Island,  where  they  would  he  out 
of  danger." 


UOAT   LANOINO. 


CIIAITKIJ   XXIII. 

I'  K  T  U  It  K  s  Q  U  !•:     N  K  W  1'  ()  I!  r, 

"  Don't  ynii  M't'  the  silvery  wave? 
Don't  you  liuar  the  voice  of  Ood?" 

KiKKi;  Wiiirr.. 

''I'^IIERE  is  a  walk  of  singular  bounty  along  tlii'  sca-blufts  tliat  terminate 
-*-  tlio  rcversi)  of  the  hills  on  whirh  Xcwpoft  is  built.  It  is  known  as  tlio 
ClitV  Walk.  Every  body  walks  thei'e.  A  broken  wall  of  roek  oterhanging  or 
U'treating  from  its  base,  but  always  rising  liigli  above  the  water,  is  bor- 
dered l)y  a  ibot-i)ath  with  pleasant  windings  and  elastic  turf  The  face  of  the 
clitVis  studded  with  stony  ))iin|)Ies;  its  formation  being  the  conglomerate,  or 
])iiilding-stone,  intermingled  with  schists.  Color  excepted,  these  rocks  really 
look  lil<e  the  artificial  cement  used  in  laying  the  foundations  of  jionderous 
struct  ui'cs.  They  appear  to  resist  the  action  of  the  sea  with  less  ])ower  than 
the  grnnitc  of  the  north  coast.  JNIasses  of  fallen  rock  are  grouped  along  the 
l»(;i(li  underneath  the  cliti',  around  which  the  I'ising  waves  seethe  and  foam 
ami  hiss.  ' 

A  persistent  pedestrian,  having  reached  the  shore  at  Easton's  iJeach,  mny 
liiiss  around  the  southern  limb  of  the  island  to  Fort  vVdams.  He  mav  then 
iii.iki'  his  way  back  to  town  by  the  Fort  Koa<l,  or  take  the  little  ferry-bo;it 
plying  between  Newport  and  Jamestown,  on  Caiionicut.  This  ramble  has 
Ixt'ii  much,  yet  not  undeservingly,  praised. 


